I Thought Things Would Be Different
by KatherineMP20
Summary: Katie-OC- lands a role as an extra on her fave show BTR as well as watch an episode get created thanks to a cousin. While she's there, she tries out for a small part on another show and ends up hitting the big time. Despite her new found fame, things arent that much different nor are they as glamorous as it appeared. Rated M for strong language (rare appearances)
1. Chapter 1

_***AN* After a long Hiatus I am finally back to uploading. I was going to wait until after Christmas or after New Years but this story that I am currently writing was getting long and I didnt want to lose track of Chapters. Just a word of warning this is a bit long winded I guess and I hate that it has gotten that way but I'm at a loss of whether I should go back and change or continue on, I want to do both but at the same time I'm a bit satisfied with the work I have. I took a guess at the amount of chapters and it's roughly already in the 20's and it's not quite done yet or even close to it. I'm working on a plot twist in the story right now and I'm trying to see how it is playing out or if it is going to work so bear with me as I upload chapter sporadically or whatever. **_

_**As a word of warning, the first few chapters only mention BTR as far as names, they dont get any speaking parts for a while. The bigger parts come later and will eventually surround Kendall and my OC Katie. Bear in mind that this is another alternate version of meeting BTR for the first time and becoming famous in order to meet them. I found this idea in my notebook from over the summer and I wanted to put it into a story and I somehow came up with this long story although it follows the main plot a lot in the beginning. While this follows the characters of BTR, some of the details might follow the real life BTR such as having their own show, living on their own, etc but I put in background for each similarity to kind of separate it from the real BTR. **_

_**I'll upload the first couple chapters until I at least get to some main BTR stuff and then the uploads will come randomly after that. I have more free time now that I am on vacation from school but I still have so much to do. Enjoy the story thus far and I will keep working on it or leave it as is and just create some alternate endings or even a condensed version if I need to or want to. Also as a word of warning, there is a lot of dialogue in this story in several chapters. As such, some of the more long winded conversations will be color/font coded to alleviate he said/ she said redundancy. Any time this method is used I will put a key code in the AN however in the event that I might forget, the first few lines of dialogue will have some sort of possession regarding who said what; that way you can figure it out for yourself if you had to.**_

_**PS- When I hard began writing this story, I had assumed it would be shorter than it is now. As I'm editing the tory I realized that the ages are off in accordance to the time line of the plot. this chapter my character should be 16-17 y/o as should the guys. By the time the time line reaches to the point I am at now (currently being written), they should be 22-24. I apologize for this confusion but hopefully I can put some hints/reminders where they might be needed. ***_

Katie was sitting in a large room by herself, as she looked out a large picture window. A large garden was just on the other side and the view was absolutely stunning. The day overall wasn't that sunny, it was mostly cloudy, kind of dreary and a chance for rain but she didn't mind. Today was a very special day and the rain may have been a minor setback, in other ways it was a sign of good luck. Katie got lost in the scenery as she stared out the window and her mind replayed everything over and over again.

It all started a few years ago when Katie was with her mom, driving her to a funeral. Her mom's uncle had passed away and she was really close to all of her family members. The drive was a longer one, about 45 minutes or so, right at the boarder of Connecticut. It was a warm day and Katie's car was the only vehicle with A/C so it made sense to take it. Katie didn't mind, it got her out of the house and she hadn't seen any of this side of the family in a while. She was heading to one of her other great Aunt's house, who was a big animal lover, just like Katie. This was apparent when she pulled into the narrow drive, when she saw her aunt's pet fox, Smokey sitting in the driveway. He was a wild animal but he often came by for food scraps, tossed into a supper dish at the side of the house.

Although well into their 60's nearing 70, the house was still an active place despite being just the two of them. Animals were abundant inside and outside, dog houses, numerous dishes, shelters and toys were all over. Old children's toys and outside equipment were still strung, gathering dust and slowly rotting away but still useable. Katie took in the sights and snapped pictures of Smokey and other wild animals that passed through her aunt's yard including wild turkey, peacocks deer and rabbits. At night her aunt said coyotes could be heard all the time and it was common to see a bear or two wandering around.  
Katie's mom talked with her family members as one by one, cousins showed up and greeted each other with smiles and hugs after having been away for so long. Katie was having fun tossing bread to Smokey, from the window and he happily took the pieces behind the barn to eat in peace before coming back and 'barking' for more. Katie finished the slice of bread and it was then time to go but first, the family wanted a picture. Katie did her best to take a picture of the big family and their different heights and took several hoping for the best. Then she piled in the car and followed the fleet of cars out of the driveway and to the funeral parlor.

Once there, she had to change out of her Academy uniform and into something a bit more presentable. She found a purple button up shirt at the last minute but it was a tad tight and short so she wore her black t-shirt underneath and just turned it around so the Academy's logo wouldn't show through. Luckily she was wearing the one sided one, although the front wording was small and to the side on her double sided shirt so it wouldn't have mattered. Her mom made her rounds to see all her family members and introduced Katie to those she hadn't seen in years or at all. Katie wasn't much for meeting new people but she was always polite and courteous, showing respect to anyone she met.

Her mother was very excited to see one of her cousins that she hadn't seen in years and Katie soon tuned it out as she looked around at everything, trying to find a quiet room to sit in while the proceedings were going on so she could catch up on some homework. She came back into the conversation when her cousins were talking about life and jobs.

"I got married to Todd, he was in CT on business and we hit it off. He works in California as a casting director for Communications Network International, so we moved out there." the girl said. Katie came into the conversation quickly, just listening. CNI owned Kid's Network TV, the station that aired her favorite show, Big Time Rush.

"Oh that's exciting! What shows have you cast for?" Katie's mom asked.

"I've done so many for them its hard to keep track, I've done the Our History channel, Kids Network TV, American Entertainment Network and more. I'm actually scouting for new talent right now while I'm up here. Kids Network wants to create a new show and find some extras for their current shows." Todd Explained.  
"Which shows?" Katie butted in, eyes wide.

"Katelyn Says, MiWebshow, and Dan's World." Todd answered.

"Katie's a big fan of Network TV, she loves the show Big Time Rush." her mom said.

"I do. Not gonna lie, best show ever. I like a lot of the shows but BTR is funny." Katie said with a sheepish smile.

"I can get you on the set to meet them, I got some of the paperwork in my car. You don't have to audition, just fill out the forms and I'll fly you out. They start filming right after the new year so you have some time."

"Really!?" she said lighting up.

"Absolutely!" He said with a smile.

Katie tackled him in a hug but stayed quiet otherwise. She was super excited but stayed quiet the rest of the service. Afterwards, Todd gave her the big folder with everything she would need and they parted ways. She talked it over with her dad who wasn't too thrilled about the whole idea but after being persuaded a little bit and assured that he would be back in time for the start of the next semester of college, he agreed to let her go. Her mom wouldn't be going with her, even though Katie could have used the support, she had to stay behind to keep her father company. He didn't like change and worried easily, and with his unpredictable health, he didn't like being alone for long periods either.

Katie packed up her things and began her journey across the nation. It took a few days before she got there, taking a train since it was cheaper and all she could afford. She'd be staying with other extras in a suit, owned by the studio for the week she would be there. She was no only going to meet the guys, but spend an entire week on set as an extra and watching the whole process of making a show from the table read to the actual shooting. It would be another couple days before the table read, so Katie had time to herself to visit the different sets on the lots and other sight seeing. She didn't want to venture outside the gated lot though; LA wasn't the best town to be in and it was much safer inside. There was plenty to do and places to eat and shop so she wasn't worried; she had the suite to herself most of the day, since the other extras were working on set.

She was super excited about the table read tomorrow and went to be early, much to her surprise. She woke to her alarm the next morning, still quite drowsy but forced herself out of bed and made herself presentable. The suite was fully active at this time, but she got in and out of the bathroom and got dressed before grabbing a quick bite of food and walked across the camp to stage 22. She entered in the back door, showing her badge and was led to the table read room, which was still empty. She sat for a few minutes until the writer and director came in, a little surprised at her existence at first.

"Oh, hello." the first guy, the director said.

"You must be Katie, our special guest for the week." the second guy said.

"Yes I am. Thank you for letting me sit in." Katie replied

"No problem, we're glad to have you. I'm Harold, the director, and this is David, the writer of the show." Harold said.

"Pleased to meet you." David said, waving to her.

"Make yourself comfy and feel free to help yourself to he refreshments. If you'd like you can wander around the hall and take a look around, take pictures and such. It'll be a while before everyone arrives. This is the one day a week they get to sleep in a bit so they take full advantage of it! We start the table read at noon, and everyone will be arriving around 11 or so." Harold said.

"Thanks." Katie said with a smile.

The duo walked out the door and Katie dug out her camera and started taking some pictures. She didn't want to wander too far away from the reading room so she saved the sets for another day. She got some fresh air outside and stretched her legs a little before returning to the reading room which was still empty. After about a half hour it started to fill up, the director was first and he kept himself busy coming in and out grabbing items and discussing things with other staff. The smaller stars and extras of the show started to file in, talking amongst themselves and not really noticing Katie. It was a common occurrence that people they didn't know sat in so they didn't question it, and just ignored her. Lucy and Camille came in and greeted her with big smiles and lastly, the members of BTR came in, welcoming her with a big hug and kind words.

She talked with them and the girls for a while before they were broken up by Harold who wanted to get started. Katie took her place in the corner and stayed quiet, listening to the lecture and episode description and other things. They were short a person and were trying to fill in some time before a stage member came in.

"Jennifer is violently ill and cant make it in today." the stage hand said.

"Ah, I see." Harold replied. He turned to Katie quickly who was still looking at the stage hand before turning to her phone. "Katie, would you like to sit in for Jennifer?"

"Sure, I just have to read her lines?" she replied

"Yes, there's a little bit of acting involved but her parts arent that big since she plays a minor character so you should be fine. We'll instruct you through it when we get there, but I think you'll get the hang of it really quick." Harold explained.

"Come sit with us, Katie!" Camille called over, moving the empty seat next to her.

"Yeah, sit with the better section." Lucy teased.

"Hey! We're just as good!" Carlos replied.

"You guys smell of hockey!" Camille added playfully.

"Not true! I showered this morning! I used my new Cuda Shower Gel!" James defended.

"Guys!" Logan interjected. "Can we just get through this without a fight?"

"Aw, come on, Logan, they were just teasing." Carlos said.

"I don't care, I have the worst headache right now. I feel like I just got body slammed by Bruno Jester from our rivals the Minnesota Warriors…" he explained, lowering his head into his arms.

"Sorry, these table reads, usually arent like this." Kendall apologized.

Katie didn't have a chance to respond before Harold took the lead again and started the table read. Katie opened the first page and read along with the group, laughing at the mischief and nonsense going on in the script and at the table. The words really came alive when each person spoke their character's lines. Katie was encouraged to take notes in her copy of the script, where changes might be considered or if something didn't sound right. The show was made for kids under 12 but a good portion of viewers were well into their teens. Katie was 17 and although there were a lot less viewers over the age of 16, they weren't exactly uncommon so her input was valuable.

Her lines were coming up and in the context of the scene, it was going to be a little stronger than just normal dialogue. Harold walked over to her to explain it really quick as the others kept going. It came time for her lines and like clockwork, she said the lines just like they were meant to. A quick congratulatory pat and smile from Harold and thumbs up from the girls sitting next her gave her the guts to keep going, just in time for her next section. The scene turned into an argument with James and the two went at it, almost as if it was real. Everyone at the table were quite impressed at the scene in front of them and when Katie came to her big finish, she received a round of applause and high fives from everyone, including James.

After the table read was done, all the actors went their separate ways, except for Lucy, and Camille who invited Katie out for tea. The girls were more open to meeting new people and always wanted to make friends with anyone new. They hadn't seen Katie at the Palm Woods so they were curious as to where she came from. They guys of BTR were friendly but they liked their own group more, socializing on occasion with the other Palm Woods guests. Katie had to decline the invitation for tea, though due to her lack of funds. She was only staying the week and had no income so she couldn't go crazy.

"Oh, so you're one of the temporary extras?" Camille asked

"I guess so. I wasn't even supposed to be an extra. I learned that a cousin of mine was a casting agent and he over heard that I liked the show so he pulled some strings and sent me across the country to see how everything goes down, get a tour of the sets, meet the actors and all that. Getting cast as an extra was just an added bonus." Katie explained.

"Have you ever acted before?" Camille asked.

"Not too much, just some amateur school plays in elementary school. Just small parts or one liners. First time being in an actual television show" She said.

"Oh. Well it's a lot of fun but a lot of hard work." Lucy said.

"I cant even imagine. I'm not a morning person at all so those early morning calls must be a killer." Katie replied. "In any case, I look forward to working with you all on the set and learning the ropes. I have to get going, I have a few things to work on."

"Sure, see you soon." Camille said waving Katie off. Once Katie was out of sight they turned and walked back to their dressing rooms. "If she's never done any official acting, how did she even get this far?" Camille wondered

"She said her uncle or something got her in here." Lucy replied

"Yeah I heard that but still, if he's just a casting director, he's just making suggestions, he doesn't have the final say. He must have forged her application." Camille surmised, shrugging her shoulders

"Do you think we should tell someone then?" Lucy asked

"I don't think so, she's only going to be an extra. Besides her acting seemed fine in the reading room." Camille responded

"But that was when cameras weren't rolling and there wasn't an audience. She could easily freeze or mess up so badly and hold us all back!" Lucy stated.

"Calm down, she cant be that bad as an extra. No doubt she's living in the bunk house so she's got accustomed to the other extras, she'll be fine." Camille reassured.

"I guess your right." Lucy sighed.

Katie arrived early each day for work and was ready to work. She went through the staging and rehearsals like a pro, even though her movements were simple. She had no lines and only had to hand Logan a smoothie when he ordered one. She messed up once but when corrected, she got it quickly and was right on cue each time, only having to repeat when someone messed up their lines, tripped or some other blooper. The show wrapped for the day and although Katie was pretty much done, she'd be here the rest of the week to watch everything else go down and to re-shoot the segment or a new one if needed.


	2. Chapter 2

_***AN* After a long Hiatus I am finally back to uploading. I was going to wait until after Christmas or after New Years but this story that I am currently writing was getting long and I didnt want to lose track of Chapters. Just a word of warning this is a bit long winded I guess and I hate that it has gotten that way but I'm at a loss of whether I should go back and change or continue on, I want to do both but at the same time I'm a bit satisfied with the work I have. I took a guess at the amount of chapters and it's roughly already in the 20's and it's not quite done yet or even close to it. I'm working on a plot twist in the story right now and I'm trying to see how it is playing out or if it is going to work so bear with me as I upload chapter sporadically or whatever. **_

_**As a word of warning, the first few chapters only mention BTR as far as names, they dont get any speaking parts for a while. The bigger parts come later and will eventually surround Kendall and my OC Katie. Bear in mind that this is another alternate version of meeting BTR for the first time and becoming famous in order to meet them. I found this idea in my notebook from over the summer and I wanted to put it into a story and I somehow came up with this long story although it follows the main plot a lot in the beginning. While this follows the characters of BTR, some of the details might follow the real life BTR such as having their own show, living on their own, etc but I put in background for each similarity to kind of separate it from the real BTR. **_

_**I'll upload the first couple chapters until I at least get to some main BTR stuff and then the uploads will come randomly after that. I have more free time now that I am on vacation from school but I still have so much to do. Enjoy the story thus far and I will keep working on it or leave it as is and just create some alternate endings or even a condensed version if I need to or want to. Also as a word of warning, there is a lot of dialogue in this story in several chapters. As such, some of the more long winded conversations will be color/font coded to alleviate he said/ she said redundancy. Any time this method is used I will put a key code in the AN however in the event that I might forget, the first few lines of dialogue will have some sort of possession regarding who said what; that way you can figure it out for yourself if you had to.**_

_**PS- When I hard began writing this story, I had assumed it would be shorter than it is now. As I'm editing the tory I realized that the ages are off in accordance to the time line of the plot. this chapter my character should be 16-17 y/o as should the guys. By the time the time line reaches to the point I am at now (currently being written), they should be 22-24. I apologize for this confusion but hopefully I can put some hints/reminders where they might be needed. ***_

After a few days, the episode was finished and awaiting to be edited. Katie had gotten another shot in, doing the same thing, handing out smoothies, this time to Carlos with a small speaking part when she handed him the smoothie. With the episode finished, a small wrap party was held to which Katie was invited. She had a lot of fun while there but not everything went according to plan. She met all the cast but after the first day, the girls were a little distant and the guys, although gracious and friendly in passing, didn't really want to socialize with her. She paid it no mind, they were stars and very busy for too much interaction, she got her autographs and pictures as well as some memorabilia from the set.

She was going to be in LA for a few more days, the episode wrapped early, much to everyone's surprise so instead of starting the next episode, everyone was given a few days off. A table read of the new script was done first so there could be a few days for changes though. Katie was stuck in LA for the rest of the week and really had nothing to do. She spent the day in the bunk house suite alone and played some games before one of the other bunk mates, Jess, came back and invited Katie to her set. Katie and Jess got alone well much to Katie's surprise, she was glad she made some sort of friend although Katie was still quite shy and submissive towards everyone.

Jess was working on sound stage 14 on a show called Mystical Mayhem, where she often played one of the many students that passed by in the background. Katie was put in as well when she showed up, much to her surprised. Her and Jess talked together as they walked the halls or sat in the background. The scenes were shot a few times as the main characters messed up their lines and after an hour, Jess and Katie were free to go.

"Being an extra is kinda fun. Easy hours and its pretty simple stuff." Katie said sitting herself down on the couch

"Yeah but it doesn't get you anywhere, or pay the bills." Jess replied, putting her stuff in her room

"True. But at least it gives a taste of acting. Acting is fun and I wouldn't mind doing it. I know its hard work but I'd be willing to give it a shot." Katie agreed.

"You should. it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Its tough landing your first role though." Jess encouraged

"I've heard. So many people want to be famous but they don't really know how it goes down; how tough it is to stay afloat. I could try out for 50 auditions and not get any of them." Katie stated

"If acting is what you really want to do, then you keep at it until you don't get rejected. Those who cant take rejection, don't belong here." Jess said. "I heard you were a pretty good actor at the table read a few days ago. You should try out for one of the parts for the new show that Kids Network TV producing."

"What's it called?" Katie asked

"Last I heard it had the working title, The Other Side of High School. I guess its about the negatives of high school, dealing with problems teenagers face today." Jess explained

"Hmm, sounds interesting I guess but I'm not sure if it's exactly something I should try out for. I don't want to be doing make-up gurus. I mean if it's a show about teenage problems, no doubt that's going to be a topic at some point." Katie surmised

"Probably. Try out for a different role, like a recurring character. You're old enough to play a teacher." Jess encouraged

"Yeah but I don't look like one." Katie replied

"Studio make-up is amazing. They can make you look 80 if they have too." Jess smiled as she sat down next to Katie. "In any case, I really think you should try out. The audition is just before you leave, might as well try out for a few parts while you're here; you never know!"

"I suppose. I get really nervous though. I've done auditions before but nothing this big, I just read from a script, big deal." Katie said.

"Yeah, this is different than a high school audition. I have some paperwork for the audition in my room. Let me go get it and we can go from there!" Jess said enthusiastically. She returned in a few minutes with an envelope. "Here's a list of the parts and the day of the audition, which is tomorrow morning actually. Come on I'll help you practice!"

"But I don't even know what part to go after!" Katie came back

"We'll try them all!" Jess said, grabbing Katie's wrist and pulling her off the couch.

"Ahh!" Katie said in surprise.

Early the next morning, Jess sprung onto Katie's best, excited for the big day.

"Come on, Katie! Rise and shine, you don't want to miss your first audition!" Jess said enthusiastically throwing the covers off of Katie's bed.

Katie moaned in protest but got up shortly after and got ready. She was excited and nervous for this audition but Jess was way more excited, although Katie didn't mind. She was glad Jess was helping her out. The audition was held at sound stage 47, halfway across the compound, so Jess signed out a golf cart to get them there a bit faster.

Once there Katie and Jess sat in a corner in a room full of people, chatting while they waited for Katie's name to be called. Everyone was practicing so Katie did too, saving her full performance or the camera. She was feeling less nervous now and more confident, although she still didn't hold too much hope that she would get the part and just had fun with it. After an hour Katie's name was called and Jess walked in with her, being her 'coach' and moral support.

"So, Katie is it?" the staff member ask

"Yes sir." she replied

"Nice to meet you, Katie, my name is Kevin; welcome to TOSHS audition. I don't seem to have a portfolio from you." Kevin stated

"I'm new to this so I don't have one, just the form." She said

"Ah I see. Have you acted before or is this just something you wanted to do while in Hollywood?" he asked

"Just school plays, silly little things with no merit. I've been an extra on two shows this week but that's it. This is my first real audition." she replied

"I see. How did you get into being an extra?" He wondered

"My cousin is a casting director and he got me the small part so I could meet some of my favorite actors and directors. I'm a big fan of Kids Network." she explained

"That's great, this show is actually for Kid's Network. If you're willing to give it a go, we'll definitely look at your tape." he said.

"Sure! I've been practicing as best as I can." she said

"Alright then. Look into the camera say your lines and we'll go from there." he instructed. Katie got into her audition, saying her lines like clockwork, putting enough emotion into them to get a surprised but satisfied look from Kevin. She was done in a few minutes and was excused with new paperwork to fill out and mail to him at her convenience. She thanked him for his time and exited the building with Jess; once outside they both screamed in excitement at a job well done and hugged each other in congratulations. They returned to the bunk house and Katie got right to work on her paperwork.

It took her the rest of the afternoon so she'd mail it in the morning; she had to find the money to send it too, she only had a few dollars left and still had another day and a half before her flight on Saturday. Jess helped her out and gave her the money she needed to send it out, with Katie promising to send her money once she got back to Connecticut.

"Don't worry about it! This is a gift to you, in hopes that maybe something good will come of this. I don't know, I know it's a slim chance but I got this feeling that you've got exactly what this tow is looking for." she said.

With the packet sent, Katie was excited and spent a lot of time thinking about it but it was almost time for her to head home. She knew it would be a while before she heard anything, if she did at all so she spent her last day, hanging out with Jess and the other girls in the bunkhouse and splurged on a small yogurt at a fancy LA boutique. The next morning, Katie was packed and ready to go as her taxi showed up ready to take her to the train station. The girls waved goodbye as Katie waved back, a tear flowing down her cheek as she said goodbye to the most fun she's had in a long time.

Just over a day later, Katie was home again, she arrived late in the afternoon and had to walk home with all her bags. In about an hour she was home, living less than a mile from the train station and she was greeted by her dog. She sat down and tried to cool off and distress about her travel time and all the fun she left behind but she was happy to be home. She brought her stuff upstairs and unpacked before hopping online and messaging Jess to let her know she made it home safely. Jess was on set and wouldn't be able to talk for a while so Katie went on to play a game to keep her busy.

School was starting up again soon and Katie became more focused on it and less on the fun times she had in LA. She got her supplies together and psyched herself up to do the best she could, her grades had slipped last semester and she wasn't about to let them go any further. When classes finally started, she hit the ground running and kept going at full speed, even getting ahead of the game. She took a few breaks to avoid getting burnt out but she didn't get sidetracked. The semester was almost done and all she had left were her presentations, that she was nervous about. All the practice of speaking at the Academy for her job and for the auditions in LA, didn't seem to matter, it was a different type of crowd; always judging her. She did her presentations anyway, getting by just barely but passing her classes with high honors. She worked through most of her winter break, including Christmas Day, which she didn't really mind. Things were getting tight in her house in terms of attitudes. Everyone was getting on each others nerves and Katie got the brunt of all the hatred and negativity.

She was sitting at her desk alone in the main office building, her dog Shadow by her side of course, doing paperwork and late paper grading that she wanted to get in before school started up again in a few days. All was quiet, including Shadow who had taken a snooze in the corner of her office. The building was eerily quiet, being the only one in the building, although not on campus, as there were some students who stayed and other staff members that had to help take care of all the animals. The building was locked, and most of the lights off, leaving on the ones that are needed to get around.

With it being so quiet, she got startled when her phone rang, making her scream a little bit, and jump in her seat, sending papers and utensils to the floor. Shadow was startled as well but he was quick to his feet and went to Katie's desk as she picked up a few things from the floor, letting the phone ring once more before picking it up. It was her personal line so she just answered it with a simple Hello.

"Hello, is this Katie Pryszweic?" a familiar voice said.

"Yes it is." she replied

"Hi, Katie, this is Kevin, from the audition a few months back?" he said trying to jog her memory "I'm calling to ask if you were still interested in the audition at all or wanted out."

"It was fun, I'd probably do it again if I'm ever in town again. I'm back in CT and don't have the funds to travel back and forth or live out there." she replied

"I understand. I have an offer though, if I send a PDF of the next portion of the script, would you be willing to make another tape for me and send it over? A few other staff from the project enjoyed your performance and would like to see more to decide if you are the right fit." he said.

"Are you serious?!" she asked in surprise

"Yes, 100%. I know it must be hard to believe, you go to 1 audition and you already get halfway through! Its exciting but don't get too over confident, this is just round 2. If things go well and you impress the staff even more, you might get called back again before the final pick. I believe you have a pretty good shot at this but the choice isn't up to me." he explained

"I'm speechless, I don't know what to say! I mean I'll send you a tape as soon as I can but I have a few questions." she said getting excited

"Ask away, my dear." he said happily

"If I make it to the next round again, is it possible to stay here in between auditions? And how long before I would know?" Katie asked

"I'll see what I can do about that, if you happen to make the final cut and you get this job, you will have to fly out to LA but I'm sure by then, you'd be set up with some sort of living arrangement, even if it's at the sound stage itself. It's actually a fairly common living arrangement for the first few weeks for new comers to the acting scene. As for how long, probably a few months; there are less people to go through this round so it will be much quicker. I think by late spring you would probably know if you got the part or not. I'll contact you regardless so you wont be left hanging." Kevin said

"Ok! I had actually put the audition behind me, I figured I wasn't going to get it and although I was excited, I had other things to focus on, like school. I just wanted to know what the schedule would be so I know if I could fit another semester in or not." Katie said.

"Yes, by all means continue your schooling. If you get the part, you'll know around April or May and by then you'll probably just be finishing up so you'd be able to finish with no rush. It'll take some time before everything gets started anyway, it might be the spring after this one by the time things get booked and set up. So don't worry about any of that and just keep going to school and work on the auditions." he explained.

They finished up their conversation and Katie screamed in excitement, spooking her dog. She was so happy she couldn't calm down and focus on the grading so she went for a walk, keeping everything tucked away for now. She didn't want it getting out how she had auditioned and now had another chance, getting closer. She didn't want to jinx herself or get ahead of herself. This was exciting for sure, but like Kevin said, just because she got this far didn't mean she was going to get it, and she should expect to. She was just surprised she had even gotten this far with her lack of acting background or previous auditioning experience.


	3. Chapter 3

_***AN* After a long Hiatus I am finally back to uploading. I was going to wait until after Christmas or after New Years but this story that I am currently writing was getting long and I didnt want to lose track of Chapters. Just a word of warning this is a bit long winded I guess and I hate that it has gotten that way but I'm at a loss of whether I should go back and change or continue on, I want to do both but at the same time I'm a bit satisfied with the work I have. I took a guess at the amount of chapters and it's roughly already in the 20's and it's not quite done yet or even close to it. I'm working on a plot twist in the story right now and I'm trying to see how it is playing out or if it is going to work so bear with me as I upload chapter sporadically or whatever. **_

_**As a word of warning, the first few chapters only mention BTR as far as names, they dont get any speaking parts for a while. The bigger parts come later and will eventually surround Kendall and my OC Katie. Bear in mind that this is another alternate version of meeting BTR for the first time and becoming famous in order to meet them. I found this idea in my notebook from over the summer and I wanted to put it into a story and I somehow came up with this long story although it follows the main plot a lot in the beginning. While this follows the characters of BTR, some of the details might follow the real life BTR such as having their own show, living on their own, etc but I put in background for each similarity to kind of separate it from the real BTR. **_

_**I'll upload the first couple chapters until I at least get to some main BTR stuff and then the uploads will come randomly after that. I have more free time now that I am on vacation from school but I still have so much to do. Enjoy the story thus far and I will keep working on it or leave it as is and just create some alternate endings or even a condensed version if I need to or want to. Also as a word of warning, there is a lot of dialogue in this story in several chapters. As such, some of the more long winded conversations will be color/font coded to alleviate he said/ she said redundancy. Any time this method is used I will put a key code in the AN however in the event that I might forget, the first few lines of dialogue will have some sort of possession regarding who said what; that way you can figure it out for yourself if you had to.**_

_**PS- When I hard began writing this story, I had assumed it would be shorter than it is now. As I'm editing the tory I realized that the ages are off in accordance to the time line of the plot. this chapter my character should be 16-17 y/o as should the guys. By the time the time line reaches to the point I am at now (currently being written), they should be 22-24. I apologize for this confusion but hopefully I can put some hints/reminders where they might be needed. ***_

Katie received the script later in the day but she wanted to get the grading done so she worked on that first. Once she finished she looked over the page of text that she got, her lines circled, it was for a different character this time though. There were notes at the bottom from Kevin, instructing her to make 2 tapes, and read both sets of lines separately to give herself a chance at another part that was still open, in case the first one wasn't available. The 2nd part was more of a main role, it was actually the main character and she wasn't sure if she could handle that but she gave it her best shot anyway. She was more relaxed in her office on her own and not being watched as she practiced her lines.

She spent 2 days working on her lines and getting pumped, trying out different ways to say it and putting the emotion behind it. The script had brackets of notes that described how the character was standing, what he/she was doing or talking to and how they were feeling so it helped when trying to incorporate it into the actual motions. She didn't want to rush the audition but she did want to get it done in private and time was running out. She did her best, going over it carefully and left it unedited like Kevin wanted before sending it to the addresses he sent. Kevin emailed her back telling her he received it and later she received word from the staff of the project on their receipt of her tape.

Satisfied, she took the day off to chill out now that the hard work was done. All she had to do now was wait and it was going to be difficult. The academy opened up right after new years and Katie was busy teaching classes for the first few days before breaking for her own classes and the new semester at school. She had a good break but she couldn't help but think about the audition all the time, so much so that her grades slipped a bit as she handed in sloppy work. She kept up with it enough and by spring break she needed a break. She stayed in CT and kept herself busy at the Academy before forgetting all about the audition and jumped back into school when spring break was over. 3 days after spring break ended, Katie got a call from Kevin and she felt low when she heard the tone in his voice.

"Hey Katie, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you didn't get the part. I know this must be rough, you came so far on your first audition, only to be left out in the end. I warned you though, but I'm still sorry about that." Kevin wanted to cry but she stayed strong but did let some sadness seep through.

"I know, I tried that's all that matters I suppose. It would have been nice to make a name for myself on the big screen though but I just got to take the good with the bad and accept the fact I just wasn't it. The show needs the right people to make it happen, right?" Katie replied

"Yes it does. You're taking it well." Kevin said

"I'm trying. I'm actually quite bummed I didn't get the part but I don't want to be spoiled or greedy. If I do that and I get another chance to audition for something else down the road, no one is going to want to work with me or hire me." Katie explained

"Right. We need more Hollywood stars like you, you know how things work! Anyway I have to get going, I have a lot of work to do but I'll keep in touch, I liked your style and so did a few other staff members, you are definitely on our favorites list!" Kevin assured

"Thanks, Kevin. It was great working with you!" She said

"You too, have a good day." he said ending the conversation.

"Good bye." she replied before slowly going to hang up the phone.

"Wait a minute, Katie!" Kevin called out

"Yes?" she replied

"I have some notes here that I didn't see before…hold on, let me read them real quick." he began as he mumbled through the words "Oh I see. Yeah, you didn't get the part you auditioned for, sorry to have to repeat it, however you did get the main role of the show; it's yours if you choose to accept it." Kevin said calmly. Katie was quiet for a moment, trying to retrace the words he just said.

"..W-What..?" she stammered in disbelief

"You won the lead role of Kylee, the under dog and lead role in TOSHS. The staff really enjoyed your moving audition and they believe you would be perfect for it. Keep in mind that these are professionals and they have been doing this for a while. You may not think you have what it takes but they do, if you're willing to give it a go, they are willing to give you the chance to make the show yours." Kevin said.

"I don't know what to say…I mean I've been thinking about this moment since I first auditioned but when I made the second cut I couldn't believe how close I was and now that it's actually staring me in the face, I'm more nervous than ever."

"Well, you don't have to decide right now, you'll have a week or more to decide as the show gets its bearings. Sets need to be made, more cast needs to be assigned and more. Even if you accept the part now, there is a 99% chance that you will be kept however, there are several times when the cast is put together to make faux episodes and see how well you will all click together. Sometimes people just don't get along with each other and although that isn't a deciding factor when replacing cast members, its certainly an option. Your personality is great and so is your acting so any problems that will arise will most likely be with other cast members so don't let it influence your choice." Kevin was met with silence so he continued on "If you need some advice, I say go for it. This is a once in a life time opportunity, especially to get this far and essentially be handed your future and then just throw it away like nothing. Take the dive and start swimming, the more you try, the more chance you have of staying afloat. You never know what might happen unless you try."

"Its still a big decision. I mean, I'll be finished with school by the time all this settles and I can spend my summer in LA if I have to. I can put school on hold as well, or take online classes if I had to, but how do I explain this to my parents? They didn't take the idea of my spending 1 week in LA to well, let alone, stopping my schooling to do acting." she began. "The more I think about it the more I want to do this but at the same time, I'm at a catch 22. All the more reason that I need some time to think this over and think things through." Katie said.

"Absolutely, by all means take your time, I understand completely. This is a big step in your life and you want to be sure its what you want to do and that you're doing it right. I'll get back to you with some deadlines to get back to me by. Take your time and don't panic, and good luck with everything, Katie." Kevin said.

"Thanks, Kevin." she said, hanging up the phone for real this time. Katie sat back for a while and got lost in her thoughts until her best friend and co-worker, Liam, came into her office.

"Oh, Katie. I didn't know you were here; I was wondering why the halls were lit up. Everything alright?" he asked

"Sort of I guess, its complicated." she replied

"What's up? I got time." he said coming into her office

"I don't know where to begin but I really could use someone to talk to." she hinted

"Chat away!" Liam said, sitting down on her couch.

"Well, it started over the summer…" she began and she told him her tale. She recounted ll the details that had happened thus far to fill him in as he listened intently. "And now I'm sort of stuck, I want to go for it and who knows maybe it'd be the leap of faith that I need, the one that will change my life for the better. But at the same time, I'm afraid to leave. I don't know what to do. I know the answer is obvious that I should do it but something is still holding me back and….I just…" she trailed off, tears starting to leak from her eyes as she hid her face in her hands.

"I really don't know what to say to be honest. I'm kind of jealous that you got offered the chance of a lifetime but at the same time, I'm happy for you. I don't know if I can be the neutral voice you're looking for. If you throw this chance away, regardless if it just feel into your lap or not, it's a waste and you'll regret it for the rest of your life. You'll always be wondering what could have been if you had taken the job. Your life could get better or it could get worse. I cant sit here and honestly say that you should go for it and that I wont miss you. We've been friends all this time and you gave me an option that involves up and leaving me behind and I just have to accept that and the fact that you may turn into some Hollywood Diva who's going to forget the little people that got you there in the first place? I cant do it. I gave you the options but I cant give you the answers." he said, standing abruptly. He stopped as he reached the door and sighed. "I know that wasn't what you wanted to hear from me but I am a tad hurt. You need to do what is right for you, not me. Stop stepping around everyone's feelings and just do for yourself for once. I'll miss you a lot if you go but I'll be behind you every step of the way as long as you promise not to forget me." he continued as he exited, slightly slamming the door behind him. He walked down the hallway and back to the kennel before sliding to the floor in a heap of emotion.

Katie was left alone in her office, still confused as ever, if not more so and couldn't help but let the waterworks flow. Her dog Shadow nudged her in the side, not liking her sadness and just stayed with her, letting her hold him tightly as she cried into his fur. Katie's mind flooded with so many reasons not to go but she desperately wanted and needed change in her life, she needed to be recognized for something, she wanted a chance to prove to everyone that she wasn't a failure. Sure she ran this empire of a dog school but the fact that she inherited the school overlooked all of the building she did to it when it was in previous hands. She wanted to make new friends, she wanted to be the person that most people would lie, she wanted recognition and that just wasn't happening here.

The problem was, she couldn't leave home. She was an only child and her parents had always been over protective. That and Katie knew of no one else to turn to when things got rough. Her family and life as a whole were falling apart and nothing seemed to help, she took verbal abuse from her family, school mates and even strangers as they criticized and ostracized her based on rumors that just appeared out of nowhere. She had been tied on a leash to her parents so long that she didn't know any other way to live. Even if she wanted to go and pursue this career for as long as she could, would she be physically able to go?  
She gave it some more thought and thought of ways to bring it up, even playing out conversations in her head. She decided to bite the bullet and packed up her stuff to go home. Once she was there, the negative tension in the air was thick, she wasn't greeted at the door and she had to make her own dinner. No on talked at all and she decided best to keep this to herself until things seemed to cool down a little bit. Things seemed a bit better when she woke up the next morning, her dad had left for work and her mom was doing some cleaning, fighting with the inanimate objects that wouldn't fit in the cupboard, with her leftover anger from the night before.

Katie didn't get any words in before her mom went off on a rant about the night before and everything that her and Katie's father argued about. Katie listened half heartedly, mostly hearing the same complaints as before, while she grabbed a cookie for breakfast. She waited for a bit before cutting her mom off, which she regretted almost instantly for fear her mom would rip into her. Katie was so nervous about the conversation she desperately wanted to have and had no idea where to start or how to explain it. She thought it was best to at least get it out in the open and hope for the best.

"I know what you're saying is important and all but it's all stuff that I have heard before. I know that lately, you guys havent been getting along and its taking a toll on all of us. But I've just had something on my mind for the longest time and I want to get it out in the open. I've been doing a lot of thinking about this and I'm not sure how it's going to affect everyone but that's why I want some opinions."

"Oh." her mom stated calmly, she sensed the seriousness of the tone and paid full attention to her daughter. "Well, then let's talk."

**"Easier said then done…" Katie sighed**

_"Honey, you know you can talk to me about anything." her mom urged_

**"I know, but this is something completely different." Katie replied**

_"How so?" her mom asked_

**"Well, you have to hear me out first, don't start jumping to conclusions or cutting me off with questions or opinions. Its fairly important but not life threatening and nothing bad." She started. She was silent for a moment, waiting for her mom to ask a question or say something but when met with silence, she continued. "Remember over the summer when I went to LA to meet Big Time Rush, see how an episode is made and all that?"**

_"Yeah…"_

**"Well, a little more happened. Like I said, nothing bad. I made a friend while I was there, a girl named Jess; she stays at the bunkhouse where I stayed, living with other actresses. All of them are generic extras or any and all of the TV shows and movies shot on the grounds. Jess says, she's been in at least 6 shows."**

"_Well that's nice. I'm glad you made a friend."_

**"It gets better. Thanks to her, I even got a spot on BTR's show. I'll be laying on a lounger next to James and also handing out smoothies. The show finished early and I had a few free days to myself and I went with Jess to work and got another spot on the show she was working on that week. Anyway, after all was said and done, she mentioned that for fun, a lot of 'newbies' try out for an acting job just for fun while in LA; you know to test their skills and see if they have anything to offer. Well, I did just that, for a show being produced on Kid's Network TV."**

_"Oh! How was it?!"_

**"It was nerve wracking to be honest but it went over pretty well."**

_"That's good. As long as you had fun. Did you get any feedback from the director or whoever does those casting calls?"_

**"I did."**

"_What did he say?"_

"**He told me that the part that I tried out for, I didn't get."**

"_Oh no!"_

**"Yeah, I was kind of down but at the same time, I don't have an acting or singing background like most of the people in that town."**

_"But you are good at it! You've done your share of plays and solos"_

**"That's different than official Hollywood business, Mom. Those silly little plays and Christmas songs, have no merit in Hollywood. I just did this for fun and wasn't expecting much out of it. I thought I bombed though, I was so nervous I didn't think my audition tape would even make it to being viewed. I thought the guy would just delete it after I left!" Katie smiled. "I learned a lot about acting and how things work while I was in LA though, it's pretty cool to see first hand how your favorite TV shows are made and what goes into creating them."**

_"Well I'm glad you had fun. Who knows when you'd be able to experience it again."_

"**That's kind of what I wanted to talk about."**

_"Oh?"_

**"Yeah, see when the audition guy, Kevin, called to tell me that I didn't get the role I originally tried out for, he told me at the end that I actually got the lead role in the show."**

_"The lead role?"_

**"Yeah, I tried out for a side kick role or supporting character but I guess the casting people enjoyed my audition and saw me as a better fit as the main character instead. I'd have my own show on Kids Network."**

_"Honey, that's great! I'm so proud of you! When does it start?"_

**"I don't know yet, they still need to find other cast members, build the sets and outline the show, they only have the pilot half way done."**

_"Well, as long as it's during the summer so it doesn't interfere with your schooling."_

**"That's the thing, it shoots in LA so I have to move out there for as long as it takes. School will have to be put on hold. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I don't want to pass it up. Yes I'm nervous, yes I'm scared but I think this might just be the change that I need in my life. Not only that, I'll be making some decent money, we can finally move out of this lowly town and get the house of our dreams! No more waiting and wishing on winning the lottery, something that will never happen! This chance to be famous is just as rare but at least its here; I'm taking the chance of a lifetime, this could make or break me as a person but I really need my life to change."**

_"Well, if its really what you want. I don't really think it's best but I do want a change to and if the option is there to make our lives better the way we want, I say go for it. Once the shoe ends and you arent as busy, you'll go back to school right?"_

**"Most likely. Depending on how my schedule turns out, I might be able to take a class or two online. Since I'm close to graduating, I'm not just going to drop out and forget about it; just taking a break. Depending on how big of a success the show becomes, I probably wont have too much to do when we arent filming so maybe I can fit in a light semester during that time. It'll take a little longer to finish but at least I wont be quitting."**

_"As long as you finish. You'll need to run this by your father. He's not going to let you go easily. In fact he's not going to believe you; I don't believe you to be honest."_

**"Didn't think you would but I'll take it. I don't know what life is like outside these walls, and I'm taking the biggest risk ever, I could be a complete failure at this and make my life worse. I'm leaving everything that is good and stable behind and going for something that isn't going to last, I know that but I still want to go for it. I just want to know if you'll stand behind me all the way, if I fail will I have a place to come home to?"**

_"Of course! We arent going anywhere and whatever you decide, we'll be here. And if your father isn't, I will be!" her mom assured, pulling her daughter into a hug._


	4. Chapter 4

_***AN* After a long Hiatus I am finally back to uploading. I was going to wait until after Christmas or after New Years but this story that I am currently writing was getting long and I didnt want to lose track of Chapters. Just a word of warning this is a bit long winded I guess and I hate that it has gotten that way but I'm at a loss of whether I should go back and change or continue on, I want to do both but at the same time I'm a bit satisfied with the work I have. I took a guess at the amount of chapters and it's roughly already in the 20's and it's not quite done yet or even close to it. I'm working on a plot twist in the story right now and I'm trying to see how it is playing out or if it is going to work so bear with me as I upload chapter sporadically or whatever. **_

_**As a word of warning, the first few chapters only mention BTR as far as names, they dont get any speaking parts for a while. The bigger parts come later and will eventually surround Kendall and my OC Katie. Bear in mind that this is another alternate version of meeting BTR for the first time and becoming famous in order to meet them. I found this idea in my notebook from over the summer and I wanted to put it into a story and I somehow came up with this long story although it follows the main plot a lot in the beginning. While this follows the characters of BTR, some of the details might follow the real life BTR such as having their own show, living on their own, etc but I put in background for each similarity to kind of separate it from the real BTR. **_

_**I'll upload the first couple chapters until I at least get to some main BTR stuff and then the uploads will come randomly after that. I have more free time now that I am on vacation from school but I still have so much to do. Enjoy the story thus far and I will keep working on it or leave it as is and just create some alternate endings or even a condensed version if I need to or want to. Also as a word of warning, there is a lot of dialogue in this story in several chapters. As such, some of the more long winded conversations will be color/font coded to alleviate he said/ she said redundancy. Any time this method is used I will put a key code in the AN however in the event that I might forget, the first few lines of dialogue will have some sort of possession regarding who said what; that way you can figure it out for yourself if you had to.**_

_**PS- When I hard began writing this story, I had assumed it would be shorter than it is now. As I'm editing the tory I realized that the ages are off in accordance to the time line of the plot. this chapter my character should be 16-17 y/o as should the guys. By the time the time line reaches to the point I am at now (currently being written), they should be 22-24. I apologize for this confusion but hopefully I can put some hints/reminders where they might be needed. ***_

A few days had passed and Katie was down stairs watching TV with her dad. A commercial for one of Network TV's shows, MiWebshow came on. Katie took the opportunity to start a discussion.  
**"Wouldn't it be cool to be famous?" she opened with**  
_"Nah."_ her father replied  
**"Why not?" she asked**  
_"Everyone's always in your face, pictures of you all the time, fans stalking you. There's no privacy. Every time I turn on the news there's something about some celebrity whether it's a royal family or those teen pop sensations like that kid Skylar Clark and his girlfriend Francesca Martinez. It's no life being popular."_ he explained  
"**Even when those stars are making millions of dollars?" **  
"_Maybe if they are but its still not a life I'd want."_  
"**What if I had the chance to become famous? Like go to an audition somewhere around here and try my luck?"**  
"_You wouldn't make it. You don't have any of the skills Hollywood is looking for."_  
**"Oh."**  
"_They want good looking, talented people who already have money to buy their way in or at least have a loop hole to get into Hollywood. Besides, school comes first."_  
"**But the chance at being famous, whether I'm good at it or not, is a once in a lifetime opportunity! You're saying that if by chance, I got offered a part of some sort, I couldn't just pause school and continue it when I'm done, or even do online classes?"**  
"_Nope."_  
**"But I thought you said, I was an adult and can make my own decisions?**"  
"You are an adult and you can make your own decisions. This is a hypothetical situation that will never happen. Besides, I didn't go to college so I know how rough life is going to be if you don't get yourself a college degree to get a better job than me. I know what's best in this situation and school comes first." he said half stern as he read the newspaper.

Katie was quiet, debating whether or not to tell him about the opportunity that lie ahead but she decided against it and let the conversation fall. She went on with her life for the time being and made no other mentions of her new job. She had no one else to talk to and she didn't want this getting out, not yet anyway. When all was said and done and she still had the job, then maybe she'd tell a few others. It'd eventually get out in the media once the show started and fans started to do some digging on the new stars.

With all her outlets exhausted, she just kept to herself, quietly debating on the next step to take. Her mom never brought up the conversation again, adding to the fact that she didn't believe her daughter; thinking that Katie had either made it up or had some sort of weird dream that for some reason she kept thinking was real. Katie went on with her daily duties and never mentioned it to anyone again. Liam remained distant and actually tried avoiding Katie, who kept trying to talk to him but he wasn't having it. She finally gave up and just wrote him a long letter and pinned it to his car and hopped he would answer or talk to her.  
Kevin had called the day before and told her everything was all set. As soon as school finished, she was to get on the next plane to LA to start the testing of the pilot to see how the cast interacted. It wasn't always the case that cast mates got along offset but it wasn't a requirement that they do, but it was important and encouraged. Katie had 3 weeks left of school before summer break and was working hard on all her presentations and papers as well as studying for her finals. She'd have to wrap up the current canine science classes early so she sent emails to her students and staff about the abrupt change and to prepare accordingly. Only her classes needed to be changed, any others going on would be fine left on their current schedule however her next set of classes would have to be taught by someone else.

She still kept the whole thing to herself and in her spare time got all the scheduling sorted out for the next few months of teaching while she took a leave of absence. It wasn't out of the normal that she did this but still, her motives were questioned. She declined to answer but left it as nothing serious. Word would spread soon, no doubt, once the show aired all their questions would be answered and replaced with new ones. She packed her bags the week before and got ready to go, she made arrangements with another friend to take her to the airport and still all was quiet. The day before both her parents were watching TV and she finally confronted them.

**"I'm leaving for LA tomorrow."** she said abruptly

"What?!" They both said.

**"I've kept it a secret and quiet just because I know you wouldn't believe me but I was indeed offered a job on a television show. Regardless of what you think, I'm going to put my schooling on hold or at least slow it down and go for this acting thing. You might think it's a waste of time or going to be a flop, and maybe it will be. But I'm not going to know unless I try. I need to know what life is like beyond what I know, I need to learn to survive on my own, make my own choices. I want to stand out and prove to others that I'm not some failure. I want to do this, I've made up my mind and I'm leaving tomorrow."**

"Where did this come from all of a sudden?" her father demanded

"Yeah, this isn't real. Honey, your dreaming, this doesn't happen in real life." her mother reasoned. Even though she had a full blown discussion about this just a few days ago, she acted like she knew nothing of it. She had just pretended to go along with what Katie was saying thinking she was just haveing a dream that seemed real and wanted to make her feel comfortable.

**"Here's my plan ticket and my contract. I sign it the day after tomorrow before we make the pilot. Believe what you want but this is real, this is happening. I didn't want to spring it on you guys but you left me no choice. You didn't believe me when I told you, nor did you even have faith in me to even do acting. I love being home, I love all that you've done for me, I love you guys. I was just hoping you'd love me the same and be there for me no matter what choice I make."** She said. She was met with silence as her mother began to quietly sob.

"You cant go. I wont allow it. Its dangerous there and you'll never make it!" her father chastised

**"This is exactly why I'm going. You don't believe in me, so why should I even bother to stay in school, or run a business?!"**

"Because at least you know how to do that already! Jumping into something new right now is crazy!"he continued

**"I might as well do it while I'm young. If it doesn't work out, I'm still safe, I just go back to school and finish up and I'd still have my business. Its not going to close while I'm in LA. This is no different than when I take long vacations to do my other schooling. I'm tired of being talked down to and treated like nothing. You guys don't realize it but you take out all your emotion and anger on me. You've had me on a tight leash all my life and while I know it was for my own good, how am I supposed to learn to live without that leash when it finally frays? I never learned how and as morbid as it sounds, we wont be together forever…Just let me do this, it's the one chance I got, anyone would be crazy to pass up a chance like this! I could be the next Skylar Clark for all you know!"** Katie debated

"The chances of that happening are quite low." her mother said coldly

**"Regardless, I'm doing this. I have the summer to get it started and if I have to put off school until the next semester, I will. I will finish school its just going to take a little longer now. I'm leaving tomorrow morning and I hope you'll stand behind me all the way**." she said lastly before heading back upstairs.

Like clockwork she left the next morning, bags in hand and loaded up in her friend's truck after saying a heartfelt goodbye to both her parents; promising that she would come home as soon as she could and that she'd make them proud. It took a few hours to fly to LA and once there she had the day off to get settled in her new digs. She was in the dressing room of a sound stage in its own block, although it was still inside the well protected gates.  
She didn't want to unpack right now she was kind of excited and nervous at the same time. Tomorrow she'd sign her contract and get started on the pilot and socializing. She wasn't a people person but she was bound to make this happen and put her best foot forward. For now though, she needed some support so she made the long journey to the other side of the lot to the bunk house and knocked on the door. To her surprise, Jess answered the door before screaming in surprise and jumping into Katie's arms, tackling her to the floor.

"_Oh my god! Katie! How did you get back here? Why are you in town?_!" she screamed

"**Remember that audition last year?"** Katie asked

_"You got the part?!"_ Jess concluded

"**No.**"

_"Huh?!"_

**"I didn't get the part that I tried out for, instead I got the lead role of the show!"**

"_Are you serious?!"_

"**Yeah! They really enjoyed my performance as far as the emotion I put in it. I'm going to get some acting lessons to really sell it and be the next star!"**

"_That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!"_

**"What have you been up to? Any good parts?"**

"_Yeah, I've tried the acting bit myself and got a few walk on roles. I'm working my way up and next week I get a short recurring role in a CSI. I really got inspired myself, after watching you go for the big jobs."_

**"That's great! You'd still come on my show right?"**

"_Absolutely! Name the time and the place and I'll be there!"_

**"Deal! I'm meeting with officials tomorrow for my contract signing and I made a list of changes so I'll add you to it!"**

The girls spent the day together and Katie showed her the stage she was staying at for the time being and Jess offered her a place at the bunkhouse I she ever wanted to sleep over a few times. Most of the other girls were new and Jess was now the RA of sorts. They didn't know who Katie was so it'd be good socializing practice for her. After a day well spent full of catching up and introductions, Katie returned to her temporary digs at the soundstage and unpacked enough to get ready for bed before turning in. She was woken suddenly the next morning by staff who seemed to be in a big hurry.

"Katie! Wake up!" the staff member yelled into the dressing room.

"**Ahh!"** she screamed in shock trying to fight her way out of the sheets. When she fell to the floor with a thud, the staff member came in, only to tisk at the mangled mass of sheets on the floor, Katie had encased herself in.

"Come on, we don't have time to mess around! Get up and get dressed or you will be late for your meeting!" she hurried

**"What? I thought that wasn't until noon?"**

"That's right."

**"Then why are you waking me up now? It's only 9!"**

"You need to get your hair done, make up applied and the right duds."

**"For a meeting? Seriously? What is this? I don't need that much time to get ready…if we were filming or I had an interview then yeah but not for a simple meeting…"**

"You will do as I say! I am your agent and I know what's best!"

**"Not for my health apparently. Look I don't want to turn into a diva or anything, especially since I havent even made a name for myself, but I will do as I please when I see fit. I know enough about the industry and have great people skills. I will get all dolled up when there are cameras rolling and not before. Is that clear?"**

"You cant talk to me like that!"

**"Oh yes I can. As per my contract, I can choose my personal staff to my liking and right now, I don't like you. I also have the rules of the Hollywood Actor's Guild on my side; article 43 section k paragraph 9 states that I have the right to hire and fire my own outside employees and not have to keep the hire that is assigned to me."** She said slyly.

"But…I…I don't…" the agent replied in pure shock at Katie's seemingly advanced knowledge

**"I will be ready for noon. Come back here at 11am for your second chance. If you are more than 5 minutes late, your fate is sealed.**" she said coldly.

The agent left and came back at 11 as instructed. Katie was ready and properly dressed for the occasion; Katie was planning on just some casual jeans but she got a little fancier just for the sake of proving a point. She went to her contract meeting where the other cast members were waiting. Everyone got introduced and then they all spent the next 3 hours in group talks before getting their one on ones. Katie had everything already prepared on paper so she was done quickly compared to the others.

Her first impressions of her future coworkers varied. She was glad their were some guys working on the set but they seemed to be more professional and not inclined to socialize with the 'newbies'. The girls were a tad annoying; but Katie didn't really get along with females in the first place, her friendship with Jess was a rare occurrence. Only time would tell if the group would work so they spent the day together to open up, as per directors orders. Katie wasn't a social butterfly so she was fairly quiet; the others were as well, seemingly loathing her for her place in the show. The script seemed equal in parts, only a few lines difference but most of the story lines revolved around Katie's character so maybe that's why. She tried playing it off that she was no different from them and actually held them in a higher regard but it didn't seem to phase them. It would take some time before they would open up and they did. Katie still wasn't overly close or friendly with the girls and more or less just tolerated them but they got along regardless.

Soon after they shot the pilot and it was a success to the directors and editors and now ready for its debut. Katie thought with her work done she could head home but she had to stay until the debut to see whether she'd be staying in LA to continue the show or going home empty handed. She was excited but at the same time, she was nervous about the debut. She had come so far and even though the cast meet and greet was a little shaky at first, they all worked through it and became very professional. Katie received nothing but praise for her acting and she had become a lot calmer and more smooth as she got in front of the camera. She wasn't nervous and was more at ease and had fun, much to the delight of the staff. She was able to maintain her fear, anger or sadness right on cue though which was really great. Katie drew on everything she had kept locked up inside for so long to produce the flood of emotion that gave everyone shivers down their spine.

Katie kept in contact with her parents every day until she was needed on set, then it became every few days. Even after the shoot was done, she was still busy with other preparations, photo shoots, promotional videos and more to get ready for the debut. She kept them in the loop though, whatever she knew, they knew. They weren't overly satisfied though and bought every copy of every teen magazine available on the rack whenever they could. The news hadn't caught wind of Katie's hometown yet so her identity and profession was under wraps for the time being but it wouldn't be long now. On her birthday, October 2, the show would debut. It was only September but time flew by fast and soon, together with Jess and the bunk mates, they settled down to watch the premier of The Other Side of High School.


	5. Chapter 5

After a few days, the results were in and the show was met with mixed reviews and low numbers. Katie was crushed; she knew not to expect too much but she couldn't help it. Jess was thrilled at the show but even when Katie saw it herself, she saw that it was lacking something, it just wasn't interesting to most people and it showed in the room with Jess and the other girls. They congratulated her but it was half hearted at best, just trying to make her feel good. Katie went to discuss the situation with the director and he agreed; they were already signed for a season that would begin production right away but something needed to be added to spice it up a bit.

"It's a stretch but why not get a little more adult with this show? Hear me out first, I know this is a kids TV show but the title is The Other Side of High School, so let's focus on high school problems. Sex, drugs, alcohol are popular subjects but taboo for this station, so for now, let's leave them out. Instead, how about regular high school drama such as grades, appearances, friends, enemies and all that but also, the negative side? Bullying is a popular thing that we should be addressing, poverty, abuse and neglect; all these could be touched on. Not everything in life is rainbows and sunshine and the show should reflect that to make sure that no one is left out." Katie offered

"Hmm…I like it! The season is written out for now, but we'll keep those ideas for next season, if we get one. We'll see after the first few episodes air if we should try something new. For now we'll wait it out and give the pilot a few other chances to air and see what happens." Harold said.

On Monday, the show began to shoot. They'd be shooting the entire season before it officially began airing the start of the year. They worked until just before Christmas when they were all free to go do as they pleased and be with family until it was time to shoot the next season; if they got one that is. Katie flew home eagerly and was greeted by her parents who couldn't have been more proud. They didn't really fully understand the show and it wasn't well written but Katie assured them that it was being worked on. "

"I'm co-writer now. I gave them a bunch of ideas to work on and I'll have to review them shortly before we return to filming. It means I'll be gone a little longer than I originally thought but I'd still be back in time to do a semester of school or such. Just like I promised!" she said happily.

Christmas came and went and Katie began a new semester of school in mid January. She was welcomed back by her department head, who didn't have any children of her own yet, therefore didn't know of Katie's new 'fame'. She did however notice a few stares occasionally from a handful of people around campus. News hadn't gotten out yet as far as she knew so she figured it was just because of the previous rumors and hate she had before with new ones starting such as her absence being contributed to a mental breakdown or something. Either that or maybe a few people watched the show in secret, Katie loved Kids Network but she watched it in secret; maybe these people had younger siblings or children of their own that watched the show.

Katie soon realized it was the latter when she was at school for a week and while sitting in the library doing some homework, a professor came up to her with her son who wanted an autograph and a picture. Katie happily obliged, being alone in the corner and after snapping pics, she told the professor to keep this low, she didn't want the media getting wind of her whereabouts yet. The professor agreed and left happy that her son was satisfied and Katie was as good a role model as anyone; being courteous and polite.

Katie finished up the semester with little interruption and returned to LA at the end of April for the next season that had been renewed over Christmas break. Katie looked over the scripts and thought they looked great and loved the topics that were now getting a bit more serious. She knew it was all up to the acting and how well everyone could portray the emotion needed. Katie was no problem, but they did have a weak link in one of the guys, Walter. He was given less serious parts and a bit more comedy to keep the show light hearted enough for kids to be entertained. Walter wasn't happy about this at all; the strawberry blond, hazel eyed boy was only 17 but he acted as if he was 30; way to mature for a kids show but his talents were as good as it got for someone with his looks so the network had to settle.

Another thing that got on everyone's nerves was the fact that they had to move to a smaller sound stage. The one they were in was too big for what they needed and were budgeted so they were moved to a smaller stage closer to the main gates. It was fine and everyone would just adjust to the smaller space in their dressing rooms, however they soon realized that they were sharing the space with a popular show, Big Time Rush. While the band was on tour and taking a break between seasons, TOSHS was to rent out the stage. Katie was super excited to share a sound stage with her favorite idols and swooned over the sets that had been packed in a corner to make room for TOSHS sets.

Katie was in a great mood; just being in the presence of BTR items made her heart flutter. She was infatuated with the show and the guys were amazing singers, dancers and were so kind and down to earth. Katie had more energy than ever and the whole place was just bright with her good mood. Except for Walter who still held a grudge. He ignored Katie and actually despised her, blaming her for his comedy routine he was forced to have. Katie didn't notice, Walter's rage since the guys never talked with much anyway. The season wrapped and they were free to go for another Holiday, this time however, the show was gaining a steady following and therefore more interest and Katie was booked solid until the day before Christmas Eve with interviews and appearances.

She stayed in LA for another week before catching a flight back home where news media had been hounding her parents. They had gotten frustrated at all the attention they were receiving and instead of being welcoming like last time, they lashed out at her in anger. Her heart sank as she heard and felt her parents cold words; her world seemed to be so good for a while and now it was just crumbling like it did before all this started. She shook it off after a while and tried to ignore it as best she could by pretending nothing never happened in the first place. Things calmed down afterwards and Katie organized a few interviews herself to settle the crowds and to put out a bulletin to leave her family alone.

With the media satisfied in their quest for answers and future shows booked for after Christmas, Katie and her family spent a quiet evening at their home for the holidays. After the new year Katie traveled her state and to NewYork to tape guest appearances for upcoming talk shows. Katie made a few appearances at the Academy as well where the staff was buzzing with questions, all of which Katie declined to answer as she just wanted to check up on things and get some paperwork done. Liam was still a tad cold to her although he was more open now. He held no grudge against her really, he was just hurt that she left without saying goodbye; not that he gave her much of a choice, he didn't want to face her. Slowly but surely they rebuilt their friendship and ended up on better terms than before. Katie was happy that she had her best friend back, she needed him to lean on when times were rough; she missed him a lot when she was in LA.

Jess was her only friend that she knew well and while she was still there, she was taking on bigger projects and wasn't around as much although she still lived in the bunk house. Things were getting hairy with Katie's cast mates; she got along with the girls but they seemed to be more open to each other, excluding Katie from many activities and hang out sessions. The guys were always distant, Walter actually down right hating her; even the older cast members left Katie in the dust. She couldn't understand why though, she was courteous, kind, and always had her door open. Maybe it was because Katie was co-writer and director now? The show was becoming a huge success thanks to all of her input and changes but maybe the other cast mates didn't like it, it wasn't what they signed up for and being locked in a contract, they couldn't leave.

Katie surrounded plots around big and deep subjects but she didn't surround all of the problems on her character as originally plotted, instead she hung the problems over other characters both permanent and temporary. Something wasn't sitting right with her cast mates and she wanted to get to the bottom to it but they didn't seem to be open to the idea. If they wanted out, they could tell her, she could write them off. Did they want bigger parts? Consider it done! But she heard nothing and felt like she was expected to be a mind reader and fix the problem herself. Wait…Was she the problem?

Shortly after the start of February, Katie was called back to LA to film the next season which had been ordered on the large size by the network at 26 episodes. They got to work straight away and everything seemed to be going well. Katie tried being more outgoing but she quickly realized that her cast mates didn't seem to like that at all; she could sense that they were just being tolerable. She took the hint and although she remained friendly, she shut down her social interactions.

Half way through filming the season, BTR had to come in to do some re-shoots and promotional shots so Katie and her cast mates were restricted to one half of the sound stage while BTR's crew pulled out the sets they needed and took the other half. With extra people, the stars had to condense rooms to give the guys a place to crash during shoots. Walter and Brady shared one room while Cassandra and Frankie shared the another one, leaving BTR to split two rooms amongst themselves. The guys didn't mind sharing but they felt bad for taking other people's dressing rooms and sent their apologies and some gifts to the ones displaced.

The guys were greeted with sarcasm, rudeness and arrogant attitudes from the four cast mates and were put off by the display. They assumed Katie would be the same way and left her alone without even trying to say hello. They had all already met before when Katie sat in on their table read and episode production but they didn't get to know each other and didn't recognize the name. Katie sat on the sidelines of some of their shoots, watching from a distance so she wouldn't interfere or get in trouble but also so she could see and hear what was going on in her section of the stage. When the guys finished, she hurried away to her dressing room to avoid getting caught as the guys unknowingly followed her towards her own dressing room.

She opened the door and bolted inside the dark room before shutting the door behind her in a hurry. She waited for a moment trying to catch her breath but something else caught her attention. Before she could grasp what was going on, a pair of hands grabbed her and pulled her away from the door. Her mouth was covered to hide her screams but they couldn't keep a tight grip on her as she struggled. She fought well but in the dark and sudden grasp, she inevitably lost the battle and ended up on the floor, full of pain as she was hit once, twice then a third time in the face and head. She was weak and disoriented but saw a shadowy figure leave the room. She tried calling out for help and getting up but she couldn't move or say anything. She sat in the dark, scared and in pain before her eyes became heavy and she slipped into unconsciousness.

The next morning was full of activity fairly early on. Staff were all over the place or both shows as they changed sets, decorated and did other work as they waited for the cast to show up. One by one the others showed up but Katie hadn't arrived yet. Guessing she was in her dressing room, still sleeping, Andrea went to wake her up gently and call her to the set.

"Katie?" she said, knocking on the door. "Katie. Time to wake up, you're need on set in an hour." she didn't hear a response so she walked in, slowly opening the door only to find Katie missing.

The room was a tad dark with the blinds drawn but there was enough light to see a good portion of her room. The pull out couch was intact and her room was a slight mess as usual. Andrea turned on the light and screamed. Staff members came running and found her propped against the wall in the hallway, holding her head. She couldn't speak words and could only point. Seth, a stage hand peeked in to see what all the fuss was about. In the center of the floor was a small spot of blood, nothing too big but still creepy non the less. The room was in shambles, looking as if a fight had gone down. One by one, the staff took their turn looking in before finally collecting themselves to try and find Katie and see if she was alright and just what exactly went on here last night.

Katie woke up in dark room, everything was quiet except for a soft, familiar beeping that hurt her head every time it went off. After looking around for a while she saw she was in a hospital and things started to piece themselves together. It was late and dark when she came to after being pummeled. She managed to move just a little but it was enough to get her going and she crawled her way to the couch and pulled herself up. She was weak and lightheaded as her head pounded relentlessly. Her vision was blurred and obviously bleeding. She felt her way out of the room and found herself in the dark hallway as she tried calling out for help. Nothing came out and no one was around to hear her anyway.

She felt her way around the building slowly, soon finding her way outside. With her eyes shut, she relied on her memory and sense of direction to find her car. She found it quickly and climbed in; she wasn't fit to drive but she didn't really have that option. The roads were barren at this late hour, which made it a little safer since she was all over the road. She pulled into the hospital parking lot and pulled sloppily into a parking space before hobbling her way to the main entrance of the emergency ward in pain and covered in blood. Nurses and staff rushed to her immediately as they saw her trudge through the door and began working over her and asking her questions, all of which was a blur.

She was awake and alert but she wasn't really keeping what she heard and saw as she was worked on with a calm and organized urgency. The pain she felt was overcome with tiredness and she soon drifted to sleep. Now that she was awake in her own room, she assumed that she was fine. She had only basic monitoring equipment on her but she was starting to feel more pain as she moved around and became more awake. The heart monitor beeped more frequently, echoing in her head like a drum. A nurse came in to check on her, noticing the readings on her own computer and injected some morphine into her IV.

"Other than the pain, how are you feeling, Katie?" the nurse asked. Katie looked up to her in confusion and surprise at the sound of her name. How did they find that out? Katie was still confused at some of her own details but was able to recognize her own name at least.

"My head….pounding…" she said in a slurred, choppy voice. Upon hearing herself, she wondered if this was permanent or just because she was weak. How much damage did she have? She didn't need this with her career just getting started. The nurse left her alone and with the morphine starting to kick in, Katie was knocked right back out.

Back at the studio, staff had spent the entire day searching the stage, the lot and any place they could think of. They searched the sound stage, other stages, the entire lot and nearby businesses. They tried thinking of places to search and even called hospitals but information wasn't given over the phone so the staff broke up into groups and set on a journey to each hospital in town. After 2 hours, they finally found her but she wasn't allowed visitors, nor was her info released. Still worried about what condition she was in, they were happy to know she was alive and well at least. A meeting was held to try and piece together not only what would happen now but what on earth happened. The room was in shambles, much more than Katie's lived in organizational habits; things were broken, strewn about the room plus the puddle of blood. Police investigated the issue but found nothing they could use and therefore termed the incident as an accident, despite how much it looked like foul play.

After a week, Katie was feeling much better and with her mobility and motor skills up to par, she was released. It was a long and lonely week in the hospital by herself; she wasn't allowed visitors but she was allowed to call out. She called home at night when things were quieter in the hospital, that way she wouldn't send any red flags about her health or whereabouts. She kept in contact with her agent and the director and gave as much info as she could remember although it wasn't much to go on. She recalled the incident and knew there was someone in her room who did this but she couldn't remember anything that stuck out to give that person away. There was no evidence that anyone was in her room so it couldn't be totally believed, especially with her head injury and partial memory loss, that would return after a few months.

With everything back to normal and police and other investigators were no longer in the way, filming the rest of the season took place but by this time, they had already run over there allotted time, to use the stage and ended up sharing the stage with BTR again. The guys came with flowers and some chocolate for Katie, who they heard had the accident and wanted to cheer her up. This time, the guys recognized her after they finally met her and were happy to hang out more often when they could. Katie and Carlos got along great, becoming close friends. James was distant, not seeing her as a friend but more of an acquaintance. James liked conversing with attractive people and Katie didn't really fall into that category. He wasn't ignoring her though, he conversed with her on and off when they crossed paths.

Kendall was the level headed one of the group and always made Katie feel welcome, treating her kind of special. There was something about her that made him happy, he wasn't in love, far from it but she had such a bright personality and outlook despite all her hardships in life and since she got here. She was a kind hearted person, just like Carlos but she had lots of love to give and strong care taking instincts that often boiled over into home baked goods that she brought into share with everyone. Katie spent more time with BTR than her own cast mates, who's aversion to her only grew stronger.


	6. Chapter 6

BTR's season was short and they were finished in a few short months before packing everything away and leaving. They said their goodbyes to Katie and kept in touch right after their vacation. They had 3 weeks off to themselves before getting into a refresher for their upcoming tour later in the year. Carlos went home to Minnesota, James went on vacation, Logan bought himself a house in a gated community in Beverly Hills and Kendall stayed behind with Mrs. Knight to just relax. He had no reason to go home to Minnesota since his family was here with him.

Carlos came back to LA after 2 weeks and hung out with Kendall for a week. The two often visited Katie on set and helped prepare for an episode they would be guest starring in next season. The season soon wrapped up and instead of going right home, Katie was detained for a few extra weeks as she was assigned new projects. She became the manager of the marketing and design department where she would help design new merchandise. As part of her contract, she was supposed to begin a singing career and although she was actually good, she turned it down for now, being too nervous and shy to do something like that.

Once finished in LA she returned to her home in CT where things had gotten bad in her family. Everyone was fine physically but Katie was always on a short leash at home. She was talked down to, threatened and sometimes starved. She was overweight when she first started acting but had dropped several pounds since being in LA and working long hours. Despite this, she was still restricted on caloric intake. She was weak at home and spent much of her time at the academy where it was much more relaxing to be despite its fast paced and busy schedule.

The show was taking a bit of a hiatus as new episodes were written and the ones they made, slowly rolled out, right after BTR. Katie enrolled in 2 semesters of school and finished up her degree and graduated in December although she would be holding off the ceremony until Spring to walk the stage with her classmates. She had little difficulty fitting back in to the swing of things but it was pretty clear that her fame was getting strong. Students, teachers and children approached her for autographs and pictures on a regular basis, which she happily obliged but she was getting annoyed and a little stressed out at the timing of all the interruptions as she was studying. She even got reprimanded for having media hound her at school, disrupting the flow of the school environment; like it was her fault that the paparazzi were always following her. Her calm demeanor and impressive people skills often were enough to gently tell of the pap not to follow her at school and they happily obliged when she posed for pictures.

All the actors from all the live action shows from Kids Network were invited to Katie's graduation. Naturally the media caught wind and there were numerous trucks and cameras rolling as Katie walked across the stage and the stars mingled with the crowd for pictures, autographs and more. The stars had a private after party right on school grounds in the smaller café of the school where they conducted some interviews with the media before having the school security and their own body guards turn them away and keep any one who wasn't on the guest list out. Friends, family and coworkers from the academy were all invited and despite the way she was treated at the school, she allowed anyone from her department to join the festivities and there were a few takers who mingled with their favorite stars. Carlos, Kendall and Katie spent much of the night together as they mingled with the other stars.

Word soon got out in the press that the only people on that didn't show up were almost all of the cast members from Katie's show. With an open invitation sent out to all the live action show staff, that had been instagrammed by numerous stars as proof, it was left to wonder why Katie's cast mates didn't show up. Other stars who where there gave their speculations that maybe they were busy with something else, they could have forgotten, or didn't get the invite. But soon the truth leaked out as they didn't want to come; they were clearly invited but never RSVP'd and a history of dysfunction in the group surfaced shortly after.

The internet and media blew up about the dysfunction between cast members and at first no one could believe it. People were surprised at just how good these actors were that they could be best friends on screen and enemies off. Katie's bright and caring personality didn't seem like it was easy to ignore and just hate but after doing research it mostly stemmed from jealousy, and attention seeking. Numerous people took Katie's side, but she declined to comment on the matter.

After a busy summer and holiday season, Katie returned to LA to begin the third season of her show, right after the new year. It felt great being out of the cold city and into something warmer, although while everyone else were wearing jackets in the 70 degree weather, she was in a t-shirt as happy as could be. Halfway through shooting, BTR came back for some re-shoots again. Katie stayed locked in her room whenever possible, scared to come out; she had a lock installed both to lock with a key and to bolt it from the inside so she would be thoroughly protected when inside. She no longer lived on the stage though, she moved out after the last season to room with Jess in the bunk house before buying a small house in a not so good but not totally rotten section of town. It was super small at only about 700 square feet but it was all she needed since she lived alone with her dog, who she had brought with her.

She didn't have that much stuff with her so she really didn't need all the room that she had but stuck with it for Shadow's sake. He couldn't go to the stage with her everyday so he definitely needed some room to walk around or sleep which is what he most likely did while she was gone. Her cast minutes didn't like her dog and she didn't feel it was safe to leave him in her dressing room with the way they had been acting recently. They were clearly upset at the assumptions made about why they didn't attend Katie's graduation although they were invited. Katie had nothing to do with the accusations and all the magazines and other media sources had given the identity of all the celebs that spilled the beans but they still took it out on Katie. Walter had even cornered Katie in her dressing room at one point after she came back from set. She was busy getting settled and had her door open but was expecting Walter to be right behind her when she turned around. She screamed in shock but quickly settled at the sight of it being just him but was still nervous since he looked tense.

"Hey, Walter. Do you need something?" she greeted with a friendly smile

"I want to know why you started all those rumors with the media!" he barked at her

"What? What rumors?" she asked cautiously, not entirely sure he was talking about

"The ones about us not showing up too your lame ass graduation. Big fucking deal, you graduated, I don't have to be there, I have more important shit to do! But noooo! You had to go and whine to the reporters that we weren't there and now we have this reputation that we don't care about you and the whole group doesn't get along! Everyone is against us! I've seen nothing but hate from twitter and all that!" he explained hastily with an attitude.

"Wait a minute! I didn't have anything to do with those rumors! I invited everyone from the network to come and no one was obligated to show up, it was in the freaking invitation! Beck, Jade, Sam, Kendall and Carlos are the ones who pointed it out to the media and only when they were asked! My own cast mates were the only actors that weren't at the graduation or the after party; did you really think that was going to go unnoticed?!" she defended

"Then you shouldn't have invited the whole fucking neighborhood! That wasn't fair to us and now we're a laughing stock!" he yelled back, taking a step forward and flailing his arms around in anger

"You're just upset that the truth hurts! You cant deny that we don't get along. I don't even understand why you guys hate me so much! I've been nothing but nice to all of you, including plot lines to revolve around each of you characters, talked positively about you, even after all the bull shit you guys have given me that I don't deserve!" she stated

"You deserve every bit of the torment you get! You don't deserve to be a star! You have no talent, you suck, and you're the ugliest person I have ever met!" he barked

"What the fuck is your problem, Walter!?" she said taking a step forward to face him. She was angry now and stood her ground even though she felt threatened.

"You're my problem you stupid bitch! Get it through your head that no one likes you and they never will like you! You don't deserve to be famous and it should be anyone else in your place, especially me or Brady! You got this job by pure luck, not because of your talent! You don't have any and all the training in the world wont be able to help you get any better! You should just quit now, no one likes you; they all just use you for the laughs. What's funnier than laughing at an ugly fat bitch?" Walter snickered. Katie was hurt at his words but she didn't let that show and continued to fight with him.

"I don't understand it. You know, we could have been friends! Why should my appearance or my position here have anything to do with me as a person?! Are you that self centered, arrogant and misogynistic that you have to be an asshole?!" she asked sarcastically

"Dumb whore!" he yelled back as he punched her in the face. Katie screamed in pain and fell back with a thud. As soon as he realized what he did, he panicked. "If you know what's good for you, you wont say a word of this to anyone!" he threatened before making a hasty retreat down the hall. In a matter of seconds, Logan showed up at her door, hearing the commotion as he was walking to his room down the hall, opposite the way Walter ran. He walked to Katie's room, curious to find her on the floor in an awkward position.

"Katie!" he called out before rushing to her side. "Are you alright?! What happened?!" he asked as he used his medical skills to assess her.

"I…uh… I fell…" she said.

"What were you doing?" he asked curiously, not really buying her excuse

"Um…I was uh, moving to fast and tripped on the table!" she lied, coming up with an explanation really quick. Logan looked behind him and saw the table but his math and physics skills told him a different story. The table was too far away and not the right height to fit with the story she was giving him. He helped her up, and checked her over, noticing a red mark on her jaw that was starting to bruise but didn't say anything. Once satisfied that she was alright he left her, mind buzzing away with theories of what really happened. Walter came back right after Logan left.

"What did you say to him?" Walter demanded

"I told him I fell." she said quietly

"Good. Keep it that way. I didn't want to hit you but you made me do it. If you want to make this show work, you better stay out of my way." he said before leaving to his room. Katie heard his door slam and she dropped to her couch to bawl her eyes out.

Walter tormented her everyday, sometimes only for 2 minutes other times it was every hour. He vented all of his frustrations out on her, usually in words but it was uncommon for him to use his fists; however he learned to hit her where it wouldn't show so no one would ask questions. Brady and the girls weren't in on Walter's torment and they had no idea; he was careful to keep it on the down low to avoid any suspicion. Eventually though, questions did arise when Katie started to slow down, her bright smile and the life in her eyes faded, leaving her an empty shell. The days were long and so were the seasons and everyone assumed it was just exhaustion but when Katie suddenly collapsed on set and rushed to the hospital, it was revealed, the level of torment and pain she had been going through.

Doctors and other specialists, worked to revive her and keep her alive after she nearly died from blood poisoning and internal bleeding from her injuries. They were determined to be from a blunt object or even someone's fist but the bruises and lacerations were all mixed together, making it impossible to measure a print and get an idea of the size or shape of the object. Katie refused to talk to much about the subject and just kept saying that she had fallen at different points. She went on to say that she was just over worked, working hard to try to better herself in talent and appearance and that she was tired, which was why she had been weak and fallen a few times.

No one was buying it but without any evidence to go on, there wasn't anything else to do except let it go and just believe her story even though it was clearly false. Psychiatrists, doctors, family, even Carlos tried to get the truth out of her but she stuck with the same story, even getting frustrated with all the questions. She healed soon enough and was as strong and healthy as ever and was released to go back to work. She was kept on a close watch and for several weeks, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Katie seemed back to her old self, full of life and smiles as she worked on set in peace. She felt safe and comfortable but took her own precautions and avoided Walter whenever she could. When she left, she left with other people and never used the same entrance more than once in a row, nor in a pattern.

When the guys of BTR were around, they often left with her, even if it was just one of them. They really enjoyed Katie's company and personality and were concerned for her health and well being, even James who had grown a bit fonder since she often took care of his puppy, Pepper when the guys were touring. They never bought her story, despite all the progress she made and no signs of reverting back to that state. It was a habit that one of them followed her out or at least met her inside when they were around; even if they weren't set to record shows that day, one of them would drive just to meet her and follow her home.

By this time, everyone had seen the area she lived in and no one gave it a second thought, it could be a better neighborhood but it wasn't all that bad. No one had actually been inside but because of the size of the house, it was easy to see why she might not want to let people in, it'd be cozy and probably a mess. As the months went on, Katie's life was the same as it always had been as she traveled back and forth between LA and Connecticut; or it least it seemed that way to everyone. Once the guard was lowered, Walter wasted no time in belittling her again but he didn't hit her as hard or as often this time. Katie took all his beatings and threats like a champ and no one was the wiser, she hid her feelings well and although emotional exhausted by the torment, she put on a smile each and everyday.


	7. Chapter 7

*AN* General Key for fonts= who is speaking.

For the most part my OC's lines will be** BOLD  
**For the person my character is talking to, his/her lines will be _ITALICS_

and when a third character comes into the conversation making a three way OR when the character comes in after the first one leaves, the font will be PLAIN. This is in effect forever unless other wise noted; this includes previous chapters (:*

After wrapping the season with BTR's guest spot, the guys, invited her to hang out for a while and grab some tea at a coffee house down the road that was open late. She accepted, looking forward to catching up some more with her pals that she hadn't seen in a while. Katie grabbed her stuff and told them she'd meet them outside. They went out the closest door and when Katie was done, out of habit she used a different door. As soon as she stepped outside she was caught by rough hands and her mouth covered, before she could scream. She was tired but she had enough energy to fight off her attacker for only a moment before he came back at her, this time with a knife. She took as many hits as she could before dodging his blow and attacked him at the neck, taking him down like an animal. Her triumph was short lived as he flipped her over and stabbed her in the side. She let out a cry of severe pain that echoed in the alley way. The attacker ran off and left Katie to die.

On the other side of the building, the guys had waited for Katie to come out and after 10 minutes, she still didn't show and naturally they got concerned. They couldn't enter the building from the side they were on so they went around back but the door was locked for the night. They called out to her and went around to the other side, to see her car still in the parking lot, so they knew she was around somewhere. They called again and banged on the door but she didn't answer. Kendall pulled out his phone and began dialing her number but it just kept ringing. Kendall just about hung up when Logan silenced him and the others.

"Do you guys hear that?" he asked listening to the dark. The others hushed and listened with him, to hear a slight vibrating noise. They followed the sound in the direction it was coming from to be lead down a dark alley. Carlos and James pulled out their iPhones and used the flash on them to light it up.

"Dammit!" Kendall cursed as soon as he was the lifeless body in front of him. He didn't need to see the face, he could tell by the custom sweats she was wearing that it was her. Kendall ran forward before anyone knew what to make of the scene. They followed behind curiously only to gasp at the sight. "Carlos call for help, Logan see if you can find anyone around that might have done this. James give me your bandana, I got to stop the bleeding!" Kendall said, taking charge.

The others followed orders like clockwork and with James' strength, the bleeding was lessened and she was stable for the ride to the hospital where they spent the night. Logan and James fell asleep quickly while Carlos and Kendall stayed awake for a while longer before dozing off themselves.

Katie spent much of the night in surgery and once she was out, she was listed in a critical but stable condition and wasn't allowed visitors until she improved. Carlos threw a fit, something that no one had ever seen before; he wanted to see his best friend and was about to have a break down. The other 3 band members dragged him outside to cool down and collect themselves. Faced with no other option they contacted Katie's staff who would know what to do. They rushed to the hospital to be told the same restrictions of their visit, only family would be allowed to enter but Katie's staff hesitated to call her parents. They deserved to see her in this state, especially if she was fighting for her life but was it worth the pain and hassle to them? They witnessed first hand what Katie's home life was like and kept it a locked secret up to now. Chances were good that Katie would pull through but she had a bit of recovering to do; with that being said, her parents would chew her out about her choices despite her riches, fame and good deeds. It was agreed that no matter what, this had to stay out of the press at least for the time being until Katie's condition either improved or declined.

Katie actually did well, as expected although slow at first before steadily getting back on her feet. She'd be in the hospital for a few weeks as her body regenerated and got used to life with part of her stomach missing. It had been punctured in the attack and was easily fixable by making it smaller but because of the tissue damage around it, she couldn't digest much on her own and wasn't able to eat solid foods for a while. While she recovered she'd be staying with Mrs. Knight and Kendall where she could be constantly watched and tended too; even if Kendall was on set or the other guys were too busy to stop by.  
Filming was put on hold while Katie recovered, which took about a month of building her self back up. The guys were on tour for the summer, but promised to check in online when they could. Katie soon found herself full of energy and bored with staying put but the show had been put on an indefinite hiatus while work was done on creating new sets, stories and possibly even new cast. Katie stopped showing her face in town which caught the attention of the media and as soon as she was well enough, she caught a flight home with her dog Shadow at her side to go back to a normal routine to avoid raising questions with her parents who kept a close tab on the tabloids.

Katie spent nearly a year at home and worked hard at the academy which ran fine in her absence. She completed some more schooling to receive another degree in Vet Assisting. Her parents questioned her long absence from her knew job every few weeks but Katie really didn't have an answer for them, she became concerned herself, as did her employees who learned of her secret life. Her best friend, Liam became concerned about her and finally just had to ask.

"_So what's going on with the show? You've been here a while._" Liam asked

**"I've been asked that question a lot and I wish I could answer it but even I don't know what is going on.**" She replied

_"Why is everything on hold then"_

**"Huh?"**

_"I read the teen mags too. Did you really think I was just going to let you go to LA and become famous without my knowing? Sure I was unsure about it at first, seeing how you were leaving me for something that could have ruined you but I guess I was really just worried about you changing."_

**"I don't think I changed too much, did I?"**

_"Nope, not at all. Same Katie as I always remembered and I'm glad." he said. "So tell me, I saw the story of the show being on hold but there really wasn't too much information. What's up?"_

"**Like I said, I don't know myself. From what I heard, there is some revamping going on. Maybe some cast changes since we don't get along."**

"_Yeah I read that. Man that went up in the air so fast…"_

"**Surprisingly enough, a lot of people were on my side. Which I didn't know I had one. ."**

_"You had the right!"_

**"But you have no idea how much trouble that caused me! Things went down hill so fast, like they weren't bad enough! All I did to make everything so smooth and go well for everyone and it didn't seem to matter at all! I don't know if I'm hated bcause I'm new or if it's just that dam reputation that's following me around where ever I go…Yeah, its nice to be famous but I never threw it in anyone's face, so why am I such an outcast? What did I do to make my own cast mates hate me?"**

_"Hate you? What are you talking about? All the articles ever said was that you guys had a little riff in communication, never that there was a feud…" Liam questioned_

"**Oh…Uh, yeah, that's what I meant. But it still hurts you know?"**

_"No I don't. You're not telling me the whole story and I know it. Spill the beans now." he ordered. Katie was silent not sure whether to act confused or saddened by his realization. "You don't think that I havent notice the lack of spark in your eyes since you arrived? You may be acting normal on the outside but inside, you've been destroyed. When you first came back, you were on some pain pills from a surgical hospital in LA. I havent seen you on them since so I assume you're better but I want to know what happened and why you're hiding everything from me? I thought I was your best friend?"_

**"You are my best friend! My best guy friend anyway."**

_"Then stop leaving me out in the dark and let me in so I can help you! I care about you and want to see you succeed and live life to the fullest. Dammit, Katie I love you!"_ Liam blurted out before covering his mouth, embarrassed about what he just said.

He had a major crush on Katie for the longest time but she never showed the same feelings or mentioned feelings of love about anyone so he wanted to save him self the pain. Now that it was out in the open, he couldn't handle her response and he just ran out the door, leaving Katie in a state of shock. She got up to follow him but her phone rang and she had to answer it.

"Katie? It's Hank, we've got the negotiations and changes in and we'll begin the new season right after summer, around September 1st. Get here a few weeks early so we can go over all the changes and get your new contract set up."

**"My new contract? What was wrong with the old one?"**

"It expired. It was only good for 3 seasons. I know we didn't finish the third season but it still counted. This new one is a 3 year deal with a record deal for you to try out, you're the only headlining star that hasn't launched a singing career and you sing quite well. You'll have creative control over it all but you're lawyer and agent already have their copies and can go over it with you in full detail. I'll see you in a few weeks." he said hanging up.

Katie hung up the phone slowly and just sat back in her chair for a few minutes before heading to the Kennel to find Liam grooming a dog. She couldn't face him right now, as much as she knew that she should. She didn't have the heart to deny his feelings and to explain everything she was going through. She had only a few weeks to pack up and fly out and there was much to do so she saved it for another time. She went back to her office to get started on the schedules and other paperwork but couldn't get into the working mood. After sitting for several minutes, she pulled a piece of paper from her drawer and started writing profusely.

"Liam,  
I don't know where to begin but I wanted to say I'm sorry at least. I know you mean well but I just cant return your feelings for me. I appreciate all that you have done for me and all the times you have been there for me but the one time you need me, I leave you hanging. I have been lying, its true; I have not shared everything that has been going on and it'd be a long story if I did, however it is the least I can do for you if you choose to listen."

Katie's letter went on to describe how life had been for her for the past several years, ranging from her schooling, her home life and even now in adult hood and her new found fame. While there were people who liked her for her fame and the good she stood for, there was an equal amount of hate. The story behind her was sad and emotional, a story so strong it could bring a man to tears. There was nothing left of her inside which explained the lack of life in her eyes but she was still hanging on to a small thread; what that was she didn't know and one day she hoped to find it.

"I shared this with you because you deserve to know. I thank you for being there for me and I wish I could have done the same. Know that this is not goodbye or the end but a chance to start a new. I wish to remain the same kind hearted person that I have always been, I just want to be able to feel. Whether you choose to help me in this quest is up to you and I don't expect you to say yes, nor will I hate you if you say no. Just know that I will not forget you and always love you like the brother I've never had."

Katie couldn't find the right words to say in the letter and tried several times to make it sound sincere and emotional but failed each time. She had left it in her drawer, folded in an envelope with Liam's name on it. Her secretary had gone into Katie's office to find some missing paper work and searched through Katie's desk when she found the envelope. It looked important so she sent it to Liam who brushed it off, still a little upset at her sudden decision to leave again. Katie had been gone for 6 months by now but he was just too emotionally distraught to even think about it.


	8. Chapter 8

Katie arrived at the LA airport and got off to find her bags. She was forced to stay on the plane as people took their sweet time getting out. Katie was nervous that her luggage would be gone by the time she got to the claim area, no doubt fans would be waiting for her. She still hadn't figured out how it leaked out each time when and where Katie was about to arrive at an airport. Just as she guessed, her bags were gone; the carousel lay empty with no one around. She sighed in frustration but went to baggage claim anyway, just in case there was a small chance that her bags were safe. She waited in line and was next before a familiar voice called out to her.

"Katie!" she heard a guy's voice say. She turned to see Kendall running towards her and before she could respond he picked her up off the ground, scaring her for a moment as she screamed at her sudden flight. He apologized and put her down.

"Sorry, I'm just happy to see you; especially being mobile. Glad to see you're doing well. I already got your bags, they're in a taxi waiting to take you to your house!" he said, pulling her to the taxi. With a smile on her face, she ran behind him as he pulled her outside. The taxi pulled up to the house and broke up Kendall and Katie's conversation.

"Here you are…" he said confused. Katie turned to open the door with a smile on her face but it soon faded to a look of shock. Kendall soon followed and opened his side to get out and look at the sight. Katie's small house had been vandalized; the windows were shattered, siding gone, door kicked in, trash all over the yard, the fence flattened and broken on the ground and to top it off, the house had been tagged with the words 'Die Bitch', 'Stupid slut', and 'talent less hack job'. Katie could only stare in horror at the sight in front of her. Kendall consoled her as best he could, shocked at the sight as well but totally feeling for her. The cabby, unpacked the trunk and took off down the road to leave the stars with their mess.

They grabbed the bags and walked through the house cautiously to find it ransacked, nothing was left behind, even the carpets had been torn up. There were holes in the wall, floor boards missing, more spray paint inside and obvious fire and water damage from botched vandalism. The electric and water lines had been cut, leaving the house dirty, and dark. They duo walked outside to get some fresh air and sun to think the matter over. Kendall offered his house for her to stay in and then began to call for some ideas.

It was quiet on the street until a loud, souped up sports car was clearly heard in the distance, speeding down the street. They looked in the direction of the loud motor until it was in sight and followed it as it continued down the street and did a sharp u turn, drifting onto a neighbors yard. The car revved and without stopping, spun its tires and swerved all over before hitting its path; right at Katie's house, towards her and Kendall. They dodged the first strike which knocked out the front wall of her house and the car was thrown into reverse to try again. After missing a second time the passenger stood out of his window and flashed a gun.

Kendall pushed Katie down and used a garbage can as cover. The bullets ricocheted back at the car, cracking the windshield and giving a few dents at which the driver cussed out his partner. The driver maneuvered his car around the yard, trying to hit the duo but managed in only destroying the house. Katie grabbed Kendall's arm and dragged him away behind a cement wall that was still standing. The driver floored it into the cement wall which stayed standing due to it's steel reinforcement. The car was totaled and the driver and passenger were both sent flying and possibly killed. The car erupted into flames shortly afterwards, most likely killing them anyway.

Katie still had Kendall's arm and kept running forward without looking back. She eventually let go of him and took off faster. Kendall was surprised at how fast she could run as he fell behind but he picked up the pace after she turned around quickly and called out to him to keep up. They really hadn't gotten all that far though and could hear more gang members or whatever they were after them.

"Find those two network tv bastards! Don't let them get away!" a gruff voice said.

It was clear that this wasn't some random shootout, this was a personal score. Kendall was scared out of his mind, as was Katie but she kept running and Kendall followed her without question. She took all kinds of lefts and rights before sliding down a sudden drop to a river. Kendall hesitated at the cliff and watched as Katie slid down the 100ft's slight incline and landing safely at the bottom. With the goons hot on his heels he took the plunge and although not as graceful as Katie, tumbling down the last 10 ft and landing on his shoulder, he got down in the nick of time and followed Katie down the blind curve and hid under a stoney ledge, needing a breather.

The two of them stood silently as they caught their breath waiting and listening for any other movement or voices. After about a minute, Katie peeked out and when the coast was clear she grabbed Kendall and ran down the river bed to the water fall. She crossed the river and jumped off the ledge. Leaving Kendall to look in horror as he saw, or thought anyway, that his friend just jumped to her death. He peeked over to find her only about 8ft down on a ledge and she motioned to him to follow. His shoulder hurt so he was careful not to land too hard. Once on the ledge Katie led him to a dusty trail to a small cavern that she walked through that lead out to the bottom of the Hollywood Mountains.

They were well out of harms way now so she slowed the pace down to a leisurely walk to relax and take a breath. Kendall didn't ask any questions and just enjoyed the scenery and walk in itself. He had no idea what to make of what just happened and didn't really want to talk about what just happened, he didn't even know how to start something like that. His mind was a blur with other things and it kept him busy until he bumped into Katie who had finally stopped. He looked ahead to see a rock wall blocking their path.

"What now?" he asked.

Katie bent down and crawled on her hands and knees underneath the 2 large bushes at the base of the wall. She disappeared and Kendall followed curiously; he wiggled himself through a medium size hole as best he could without getting too much pain jolting up his arm. Once inside, Katie helped him up and he took in the view. It was breathtaking; like a scene out of a story book. There was a whole ecosystem surrounded by a rock wall; a paradise created by nature and Katie had set it up as her own.

The entire cavern was open at the top but there was plenty of foliage for cover from any helicopters, satellites and hikers that may be passing over the bridge above It was difficult to look down and see any of the cavern floor so even if Katie wasn't in the tent, she wouldn't be seen. There was a fresh water stream that ran through the center, fed from a split in the waterfall they jumped from on the other side of the mountain. The fish were plentiful in both the stream, where she set up a net to catch a few that swam by, and in the small lake at the end of a small drop of about 6 ft. This was a beautiful paradise, filled with all kinds of foods and natural shelters to cater to any animal. Surprisingly though, Katie was alone here, no other animals except for a few lone birds, passing through.

Kendall was stunned at the area he was in, surrounded by a peaceful paradise after nearly getting shot and chased by some gang members who wanted to kill them. He wanted to know who they were and why they were after them but he was more interested in how Katie found this place. As he took a closer look, he realized that she had been living here for a while, the area was well lived in, with her supplies and shopping all over the place. She had begun working on setting up some lunch and hadn't said anything since they had gotten out of harms way. She was still shaken up at the whole ordeal but she was more embarrassed to let out what her life had come too, there was no hiding that fact that someone wanted her dead. She didn't know how to begin to explain why this was happening, she didn't even know it herself.

"You know, we need to talk sooner or later…" Kendall finally said.

He was gentle but firm not sure how to begin. Katie remained silent, looking down at the fire she had started to cook some fresh filleted fish she caught this morning. She could feel him staring at him so she looked up at him, her eyes starting to tear, as they told him the guilt and suffering she was feeling.

**"I'm sorry. I know its not enough to say but I don't know what else I can say. I never meant for any of this to happen.**"

_"I don't even know what just happened. I was hoping I could get an explanation."_

**"I wish I had one to give you…"**

"Someone just tried to kill us, you're living in a tent in the wilderness and you don't have a reason why?!" he said getting a tad louder out of shock and confusion. She shook her head in response as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" he continued. She sat in silence with no answer. "I want to help you, I want to understand but you need to tell me so I know what to do."

"I- I cant. I've done nothing wrong and nothing illegal; there are just people on this earth that do not like me, even before my fame. Perhaps I was wrong to think things would change and I would be respected, proving to everyone that I wasn't the scum of the earth they pegged me to be.." She started. She didn't need to look at Kendall to feel his gaze; she could feel him judging her already and it hurt to think that the few friends she made here were now going to all disappear. She tried to hold in the tears and her emotions as best she could while she continued. "Its safe to leave, just follow the path back to the river bed and follow it to the base of the mountain. You'll be right at the entrance of the boulevard." she instructed softly. She turned her attention to the fish frying in the pan and stayed silent. Kendall just looked to her, no words to say and after a minute he got up and slowly walked to the exit. He looked back and sighed to himself before crawling out through the bushes.

Kendall wandered down the path aimlessly as his mind buzzed with thoughts, he soon realized it was getting dark and he was lost. He had yet to find the river bed but he was still on a path so he just assumed he went the wrong way. Not knowing how far back the turn was, he just kept going forward, hoping to reach some sort of crossroads or sign. He kept going, following the trail until the sun had completely set. He used what was left of his battery life on his phone to use it as a flashlight since he didn't have a signal anyway.

The path widened as it went up a hill and then went down somewhat steep but still easily walk-able. He reached a ledge and climbed down the boulders to the flat area where the trail ended. He was lost completely and didn't have enough battery to find his way back again. It was kind of chilly now, being just under 70 degrees, cold for south Californians. As he stood, holding himself in the chilly air, he realized that he heard a waterfall. He walked towards it and noticed a fire in the distance. He walked towards it to see a campsite, Katie's camp site actually.

"Katie?" he called.

There was no answer so he checked the tent to find it empty. He heard a splash that was fairly close and turned to the direction of it. There was another fire in the distance and a bunch of torches lit the way towards the lake bed. He walked down the path and stopped at a tree that held a towel; on a branch on the other side lay her clothes. Her dirty ones lay scattered on the path in front of him. Kendall quickly put the pieces together and didn't want to disturb her. He found Katie attractive to say the least, her slimmer figure catching his attention from the chunky girl he met 4 years ago. He was curious as well, he was shy and respectful but he was still a guy and temptation was dragging him in to take a peek. He thought better of himself and turned to walk away.  
He bumped into something and was caught off guard, he couldn't see what it was but it was heavy and…furry? He didn't have much time to put in too much thought before whatever it was started growling.

"Uhh…nice…thing? Easy now…don't hurt me, its ok, I was just leaving!" He stuttered.

He tried walking around the animal but it stopped him and then cornered him. The growl got louder and more ferocious until it finally attacked. Kendall didn't have time to scream before it knocked him to the ground, drooling on his face. The animal was heavy and Kendall panicked giving him the strength to fight off the animal. He didn't want to hurt it, just to get away from it, even though it was trying to kill him. Kendall liked animals a lot, and although he and his band mates could tousle players around on the ice like bowling pins, he just couldn't hurt an animal. He managed to get the animal off him and he got up and ran down the path way.

The animal was right on his heels and he soon reached a dead end. The waterfall was almost deafening and he couldn't hear himself scream. He saw the dogs eyes, glowing in the moonlight and that gave him the edge to see the dark furred beast. He climbed the ledge and started scaling the wall but to his surprise the animal was right behind him, jumping from rock to rock with ease and grace. Kendall reached a flat area and kept going but in a few short strides he reached the edge of it and nearly fell off. The sky was opened in this area and the light of the full moon gave off enough of it's silver glow to outline all the objects in its reach.

The animal climbed the last part of the ledge and shook itself off as it walked to Kendall slowly, ears back and teeth showing. He looked down really quick behind him but couldn't see too much other than an occasional glow of the water's surface reflecting the moonlight. It was about a 15ft drop but he didn't know what waited for him down below, if anything. He might have seen water but that didn't mean that it was deep or full of rocks. The animal stared him down and Kendall took one last step backwards, putting him right on the edge of the ledge and watched in terror as the animal kept coming closer.


	9. Chapter 9

Kendall was trapped at the edge of the ledge with nowhere to go. The animal made a lunge for him and Kendall lost his balance. The animal made contact and rebounded off of Kendall and landed back on the ground, sending Kendall tumbling off the ledge. Kendall panicked for his life and managed to grip the ledge in a last ditch effort but he only had one hand gripping and he couldn't reach up with his other one. He soon lost his grip and yelled as he fell 15ft and splashed into the water. Katie heard the splash but his yell was so quick and echoed off the cavern wall that it mixed with his splash.

"Shadow!" Katie called out her pet's name. She thought he had fallen off the ledge and ran over to the rippled water as best she could be for reaching the deep section and swimming the rest of the way. It was dark and she couldn't see but she was panicked as she felt for her dog with her feet and her hands. She surfaced for a breath and looked for him on the surface but he hadn't come up. Her heart was beating out of her chest in fear but then she heard him yelp at the top of the cliff. She looked up with relief to see him staring down at her. "Oh my god, Shadow, you scared me! Come down from there!" She yelled up and he ran down to her fairly quickly, meeting her at the edge of the pool as she swam back to the shallow area to finish her bath.

She sat on a rock that was slightly submerged underwater as ran the cool water over her. She had some fresh bruises from earlier when she went into town to fetch Shadow on an incoming shipment. She spared no expense to make sure that Shadow didn't get lost in transit like some piece of luggage and splurged on a fancy pet travel agency. He arrived about a half day after she did, once Kendall left, Katie ate some of her fish, not really all that hungry and saved the rest for her pup. She then exited the way Kendall had stumbled in and dug out her car from all of the overgrown bramble and drove it into town to pick up Shadow and some fresh snacks and other food.

She had run into Walter on the way through town as she walked along the shopping strip. He had been waiting for her, knowing she was returning and he wasted no time in cornering her in an alley way and threatened her and gave her a few smacks. He was losing popularity and had no source of income while she 'played lazy' in her home state. Katie fought back but he threw her to the ground and took what money she had before ditching her in the alley. She got up and dusted herself off and walked with a high head although sore and bleeding from somewhere. She was wearing dark clothes so she wasn't worried about it seeping through too much. She picked up Shadow and drove back to her humble abode, taking extra care that no one was following her.

Kendall had surfaced on the other side of the pond a while ago now and was fine, just wet and a little shaken at the whole ordeal. After he gained his composure, he spotted Katie in the distance, the pond wasn't all that large so he had a good image of her. In the light he could see her battered body shine as the water rolled off her otherwise perfect skin. He was entranced a bit as he watched her bathe in the moonlight before coiling back in embarrassment at what he was doing. He shook the image from his head as he felt his cheeks grow warm and red. His shuffling caught Shadow's attention and he growled in dominance as he ran straight at Katie. Shadow hated going near water so when he plowed through it to get to her, she knew something was up. Shadow continued to growl and pointed at the other side of the pond but Katie didn't see anything and Shadow quickly died down after hearing silence himself.

He stood on the rock where Katie sat, too timid to go back across the water. Katie finished up and felt relaxed. She stayed in the water for a little more, giving Shadow some comforting attention before urging him back across. He jumped from the rock, halfway to the shore and quickly ran through the rest of the water before shaking off the excess and burrowing his head to the ground to dry his head. Katie took a quick swim to wash the dog fur off before surfacing and wandering over to the shore after her pup. Shadow stopped burrowing and stood at attention at the path; he put his nose in the air and huffed as he pointed with concern from Katie to the path. She wasn't really looking so Shadow just kept watch before howling and startling her. She jumped at his howl and quieted him down but he went into a defense mode. She made it to shore, slipping into her sandals and walking to the tree to grab her towel when she ran into what Shadow had been alerting too.

"Ahhhh!" she screamed before jumping back into the water to try to cover herself.

"Katie! It's me, Kendall!" he said as he came out from the tree. He had a hand out in front of him, feeling his way around, his other hand covering his eyes.

"Kendall?! What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded as she covered her chest and sunk into the water.

"I got lost and somehow managed to find the entrance at the top. I thought I was just heading down the mountain but then I saw all of your stuff. I saw your clothes hanging from the tree so I knew you were showering so I went to turn around and I ran into an animal which I guess was your dog. He chased me up the ledge and knocked me off of it. I fell just behind you and tried to swim away and made it to the back. I followed the path back over here when I saw you getting out. I didn't mean to scare you and I didn't mean to spy on you, I'm really sorry! I didn't see anything if it helps any." He pleaded, eyes still covered.

**"It's fine I guess…no harm done I suppose. Just turn around so I can get out."**

"Yeah, sure." he said as he spun around without hesitation.

He listened as Katie got out of the water and he actually felt a few drops hit the back of his legs. He felt the wind of the towel pass him and heard it move around before she grabbed her other clothes. She got dressed quickly even though she wasn't dry just to lessen the chance of being exposed to him again. She took his word that he didn't see anything and with the dark of the night, it sounded plausible; she didn't want to talk about the events nor her bruises that she hoped he didn't see. This was what she didn't want to have to explain.

Kendall spent the night with Katie in the spacious tent and Katie would lead him out in the morning and drive him to wherever he needed to be on her way to the studio. He offered to go with her but she declined at first, then offered to wait and see how things might go when she got up. She fell asleep rather quickly but Kendall was restless; he was nervous about everything that was going on and he had so many questions that needed to be answered. He fell asleep for a few hours before the early morning sun kept him awake.

He looked over to Katie who was sound asleep, slightly falling out of the cushioned sleeping bag. He could see her bruises peeking out from the bunched up areas of her clothes. Shadow was sleeping in the tent over and he heard Kendall rustling around and came to investigate. He was friendly enough now that Katie was calm and welcoming with Kendall. He said good morning to Kendall who gave him some pets before Shadow nudged his way out the tent flap and stretched his legs. He got himself some water from the stream and relieved himself on some nearby bushes before curling up just outside the flap and getting some more rest as he waited for Katie to get up. Kendall crawled over Katie to exit the tent himself, taking a stroll down another path to find a bathroom himself. Shadow kept his position and watched from afar as Kendall did his thing.

The hot LA sun warmed up the tent quickly and Katie soon became uncomfortable which forced her awake. She was decently rested so she didn't mind getting up, she stretched and sat up to find the tent empty, she thought for a moment that maybe last nights events were just a dream but as soon as she got out of the tent, she saw Kendall in the distance walking back to her.

_"Morning, Katie!" Kendall greeted_

**"Good Morning. Sleep well?" she replied**

_"Not really but I got enough. I'm just not used to sleeping on the ground, plus I was a bit freaked that your dog was right next door…Not really too trusting after he chased me off a ledge."_

**"Sorry about that, he was just protecting me in my vulnerable state. He's my good boy." she cooed to her pup who still sat at the entrance of the tent. "Ready to go?"**

_"You're not getting dressed?"_

**"Nah, I got some extra clothes at the studio. Want to stop for some breakfast somewhere?"**

_"Sure, what do you feel like having?"_

**"I don't need to be anywhere until noon so it doesn't matter to me."**

_"Alright, let's go to ihop or something and have a sit down breakfast."_

**"That sounds good to me! Come on, let's get going."** she said.

Kendall followed her up the ledge and pulled himself up after her as they made their way up the short but steep incline. At the top under a pile of brush, sat Katie's car which blended into the scenery nicely due to its green color. Kendall hopped into the passenger seat and Katie opened up the back door for Shadow who was sniffing his way up the hill slowly. He was a good climber and didn't need much help jumping up the short cliff ledge, even though Katie was a bit nervous in his old age. She called him and he ran to her, jumping into the back seat with force.

Ihop was the first place they came across and Katie pulled right in. It was the middle of the week and still early so it wasn't busy. Katie left the windows rolled down and Shadow took a nap as he waited for them to finish. It was nearly 2 hours before they finished and they spent much of the time talking about anything and everything, letting time slip away without even realizing it. They were alone in a corner of the restaurant so they had the freedom to talk in private. Katie still didn't talk too much about what was going on in her life but Kendall knew she wasn't telling him everything; she would tell when she was ready and he'd be there for her. They both learned just how much in common they had with each other; their love for animals, their shyness, caring personalities, humor and most of the same hobbies and interests. Katie was glad that she was making knew friends and told Kendall how difficult it was to make friends now that her friend Jess was onto bigger and better things. Katie was still ahead of the game with having her own show, but it wasn't a race; and besides, the secrets Katie was hiding were almost not worth it.

It soon started to get busier and Katie had to get going to prepare for her meeting at the studio. She dropped Kendall off at his house inside a nice gated community, he had Katie sign an approved guest list so she could come and go as she pleased in case she ever needed him or wanted a nice warm bed to sleep in and a home cooked meal. He gave her a hug goodbye and waved as she drove off to town.

"She's a nice girl, son." the old security guard said. "You two make a nice couple."

"Oh, we arent together. Jut friends." he corrected.

"Shame, I think she's a nice young lady for a guy like you. Girl's like her are hard to find these days." he chuckled, giving Kendall a reassuring pat on the back. Kendall stared into the distance at nothing just thinking to himself.

"Mom, I'm home!" Kendall called as he entered the house.

"Kendall! There you are, where have you been!?" she demanded

"it's a long story. Sorry I didn't call, my phone died and I had no place to charge it." he replied

"I've been worried sick about you!" she yelled

"Don't worry mom, I'm fully capable of taking care of myself, I am an adult now after all. All of us are, we arent those 15 year old hockey players anymore, we're 22 year old men with professional acting and singing careers." he stated

"Well, where were you?" she asked

"I stayed at a friends place." he answered

"Well as long as your in one piece and not getting into any trouble…You still live in my house though and you should live by my rules regardless of how old you are!" she lectured

"Sorry Mom. I'll try to be more on top of things. Things just got a little out of hand yesterday and I was just to tired and too busy to do anything." Kendall replied

"Hmm." she sighed. She watched as he retreated to his room to change, noticing the dirt covering his shirt and skin. She didn't ask and just figured he was playing rough with what ever friend he stayed with last night. "Kendall I want those clothes in the laundry right away. Bring them out here before you get in the shower."

"Sure. I was planning on taking a nap, I didn't sleep much last night." he replied

"Shower first, you have a photo shoot this after noon." she ordered

"Aww man!" he countered

"Don't complain, Mister, just get your butt in the shower and then you can sleep all you want." she said.

"Fine." he replied.

He retreated to his room and got undressed before tossing his clothes out the door in a heap and heading to his awaiting shower. The warm water felt good and he was getting sleepy as he relaxed although his mind was buzzing with thoughts about everything that happened in the last 24 hours. He tried picturing Katie living in that hole for what appeared to be months. It broke his heart that this was happening to her, he just wish he knew the whole story, he hated jumping to conclusions.


	10. Chapter 10

***AN* there is some racism and other rude comments in this chapter. Please bear in mind that these are NOT the views of myself, or any member of big time rush or nickelodeon. If you are easily offended by such comments please skip this chapter.**

**Also on a side note, Kendall has a lot of dialogue in this chapter so all of his lines will be _ITALICS. _Third party characters will have PLAIN text.**

Several days passed before Kendall got a chance to meet up with Katie at the studio. He stopped by to see how she was doing and to maybe chat a little more; he developed an attraction towards her, more than he did originally when they first met. He didn't want to admit it, but he kind of judged her before he got to know her. As they talked yesterday, he felt himself get worked up about the things they could enjoy together. His band mates were his best buds but it was a nice change to hang out with someone different every now and then. Besides, off set, he didn't see his band mates all that much, James had several other modeling jobs, Logan was working on some college classes to prepare for medical school and Carlos had found himself a girlfriend to keep him entertained.

Although Kendall was the unofficial lead vocalist, and was the most popular among fans, he didn't really stand out in the press, he had an average amount of photo shoots and what not that any celebrity would have but he was also the only one who stayed completely grounded. After the whole fiasco of getting Hollywood Fever, the others were prone to getting it again but they were fairly good at keeping it under control, except for James who always had a bit of arrogance and being egotistical. James had gotten himself into trouble a few times after paparazzi caught him with another girl while dating a Jennifer. He also had an accusation that he had gotten a fan pregnant but the whole thing soon unraveled as false with a DNA test. James knew he was innocent, he reluctantly admitted that he was a virgin despite his womanizing tendencies.

Logan was on and off a lot with Camille, not really ready to commit to a relationship, although he did love her. Logan was always a bit indecisive when it came to almost any decision. Carlos was happy as could be with his girlfriend, Stephanie and often became distracted as normal; although on set he was perfectly focused. He had come along way from the care free and kiddish Carlitos when they first arrived in LA; he was more mature and he was quite intellectual. Despite all these changes the guys were the best of friends and got along fine, sharing all of their creative ideas and splitting fame equally as they always promised. Sure they squabbled a bit but who wouldn't after spending so much time with another person.

Kendall arrived at the lot and walked right in the back door. He wandered onto a hot set being taped and stayed as quiet as he could while he tried to look past the big group and see if Katie was around. It didn't look like it so he continued on to her dressing room but stopped at the snack table first to grab a donut to tide him over until lunch. He wandered to the dressing room area where everything appeared to be abandoned, even the wardrobe area; not a single person was around. Kendall was about to search elsewhere until he heard some yelling that caught his attention. He continued forward and it got louder and more coherent.

"You're luck is wearing thin! You can keep running around LA all day long for all I care, I have gunman all over this city trying to find you and once they do, it will be the end of you. With out you and your talent less ass out of the picture, I can finally shine with my own show!"

**"What makes you think, this show would even continue? I'm curious."**

"No way will the network shut this down. This show is too popular and full of helpful hints. Bunch of bullshit, really; this shit happens all day every day, these pussy kids got to learn to stop being such wimps and take their lumps like a man! Even the bitches!" he said. He gave Katie a punch in the gut, knocking the wind out of her and making her drop to the floor. "Kind of like you, you've taken it all so well, but I must admit that your perseverance is getting on my nerves."

"**I'm not going to give in so easily!"**

"See? This is what annoys me. You think you stand a chance against me. Don't you remember that I was one of the major stars on CSI? I have the knowledge to completely obliterate you without a trace and no one will question me." he said hitting her again.

**"Ugh!**" she grunted.

"Heh. Enjoy life while you can, it wont last much longer." He said pulling out a small pistol. He aimed it at Katie who looked at it coldly. Kendall was standing outside the door frame listening intently and didn't even hear Walter move before he felt his gun. "Keep your hands where I can see them, Kendall. You should have learned to stay out of other people's business." he said coldly. He grabbed Kendall roughly and shoved him into Katie's room. He stood at attention, eyeing Walter and Katie; once Walter shut the door Kendall helped Katie up to the couch.

_"What the hell is your problem?!"_

"My problem? I don't have a problem."

"_Then how do you explain all this you psychotic freak?!"_

"My, my, such words for someone who's life I care for even less than her's. I suggest you shut up while the getting's good. You've put me in a predicament it seems, so many extra bodies!"

"_What's the matter, got too much on your conscience?_" Kendall snarked.

"On the contrary, I have no problem with eradicating both of you right here and now but I like to have my fun with my prey before I kill. Besides, murdering you right here would be too obvious and if I tried to remove your carcasses, well that just makes more work for me and I do so hate manual labor." he said lightly with a snobbish tone. "I have 'employees' who can take care of that mess for me, although now I'll have to pay them double now that you've shown your face, Kendall."

_"You rat bastard!_" Kendall spat

"Now, now, flattery will get you nowhere. Only time will tell; until then I bid you ado. Actually I should probably say my goodbyes now, I wont be seeing you again will I?" he pondered jokingly. He opened up Katie's door and laughed at their fate.

"**You wont get away with this, Walter!**" Katie yelled to him

"Oh yes I will. No one is going to believe your story that I am a cold blooded killer. Sure I may have a background in CSI training from the show but I started and support the top charities in the world, I've done nothing but good. Besides, on the off chance that I do get questioned and I cant kill you myself, someone will always be waiting to do it themselves, then I'll be off the hook." he explained

"**Who in their right mind would work for you?!**" Katie asked

"Please, this town is overflowing with foreign scum. All I need to do is wave a few bucks in their faces and they're mine. I guess that's one thing those disease ridden immigrants are good for; they're used to killing anyway, they might as well continue to do it for some money." Walter answered.

With that he left, a big grin on his face, shutting the door behind him. Katie and Kendall both breathed a sigh of relief although Kendall wasn't nearly as calm as she was. Katie grabbed a tissue and wiped some blood off her face before tearing her table apart. She flipped it over and undid a wooden box. She motioned to Kendall to stay quiet, seeing the curiosity and excitement in his eyes. She opened the box to reveal a recorder inside, a microphone sitting in a bowl of candy that was glued to the table. She took out the card and quickly uploaded it to her computer and sent it to many online sources to hold it, it was the only evidence she had.

She had been planning this for a while and had a small folder of evidence from film to sound. Although Kendall wasn't part of the plan, she was glad he was there; he could be a valuable witness to this whole thing but at the same time he could hurt the entire operation but that was a chance she was willing to take, at least she wasn't alone anymore. With the files secured, She took Kendall by the hand and began her plan and he followed her without a word. She had planned for Walter to be caught by security guards about his car, he would be stalled enough to get the police here in less than 10 minutes so she had to move fast.

Katie had been suffering for many years, even before Walter's abuse and she learned enough on her own to take care of herself pretty well. She researched Walter's schedule, he met everyday with the head of a local gang to set up plans and distribute payment at 2pm, right after lunch. If it wasn't him, it would be someone else from his circle of friends, including Brady. They all wore the same clothes whenever they were meeting and the outfit was already set. An undercover cop was waiting at the rendezvous point with plenty of backup to take the suspect in. Katie dropped off the recorder to the security guard just in time to see a cop car pull up to the gate and pretend to chat with a long time friend of his passing along on the sidewalk; another actor Katie hired.

"Hey Jeff!" Another guard called out. The guard Katie was talking too had passed the recorder along to his pal to pass to the awaiting officer.

"Rick! What's up man?" The officer replied

"Not much, you?" the guard asked

"Going good, going good! How's the wife?" the officer asked

"She's doing great, she got herself a little side hobby now; she's doing a book club." the guard responded.

"Oh good for her!" the officer said before Katie faded out of the convo and kept going with the plan. The rest of her day was clear and she was free to go but she didn't really want to. She didn't have much of a choice though and wasn't allowed to live in her dressing room anymore, not that she wanted to. She left reluctantly, sending Kendall on his way to avoid suspicion and he headed home as well, worrying about Katie the whole time.

"What's wrong, honey?" Mrs. Knight asked her son who was slopped in the couch.

_"Nothing. I just got a lot on my mind."_

"Want to talk about it?"

_"Not really, it's a lot and its very confusing."_

"I got time, maybe I can help think of a solution."

_"Well, I came upon a problem a while ago but I didn't think anything of it, and now it really escalated to a point where…I don't know how to describe it. I don't know if I could have helped much in the beginning but I feel guilty that I didn't even try to understand what was going on and that somehow this whole situation could have been prevented."_ he explained as best he could without giving too much up.

"Sounds complicated."

_"I told you."_

"It's never too late to try and help out. Sometimes a problem just needs a gentle nudge in the right direction even if it doesn't seem like it would do much."

_"But what if it's more complicated than it seems? I mean I could make matters worse or walked into something at the wrong time."_

"You never know until you try. You don't want to try and help and end up being too late."

_"I know but…Its just not that simple…"_

"Why not tell me more about this problem of yours?"

_"I-I cant."_

"Honey, you're not going to help anyone or anything by keeping secrets."

_"It's not that simple, Mom! I don't know what to do or what I've walked into!" he yelled. "I cant just make everything better, I don't even know how to! I've only scratched the surface of what's going on and…"_ he trailed off quietly.

"I trust you're judgment on this, Kendall. I know you'll find the right thing to do." she said, standing from the couch to let her son think in peace.

"_Mom, Wait!"_ Kendall called to her, getting up to follow her. She turned to him, eyes wide in confusion and concern yet soft and welcoming. He looked into her eyes and broke down everything that had happened in recent days and even went back through the years, recalling all the signs he had seen but never acted on earlier. "_I'm scared, Mom…_" he said at the end, holding Mrs. Knight tight. She was just as scared and concerned for her boy as ever with the news he just told her. She was speechless and had no idea what to say or what to do; she didn't want to see her son killed.


	11. Chapter 11

Walter was arrested and charged with blackmail, threatening, fraud and attempted murder the same day Katie put the whole plan in motion; a few gang members and their leader, one of the FBI's most wanted were captured as well. It didn't hit the news until a week later and the media blew up about the whole thing. Controversies sprang up everywhere about the model behavior of some of the Network actors although Walter was just nuts. He was deemed unfit to stand trial and sent to a mental hospital to recuperate before hitting the stands to receive his sentence. The details about Katie never surfaced and Kendall kept it to himself.

He went straight to the studio to find her and congratulate her but the whole cast had been sent away after their interrogations and Katie was given a week at least to collect herself after the whole ordeal. The show was put on another indefinite hiatus with the threat of it being cancelled dangling very close above their heads. Kendall gave Katie her space and decided if she needed someone she would call him or whoever she wanted when she wanted them. He kept himself busy the rest of the day and prepared for a series of interviews tomorrow.

The guys arrived to their interview bright and early; they hung out in the green room to prepare for their short segment and performance later. It wasn't long until the room started buzzing about the news of Walter, Katie's cast mate. Needless to say the other guys were concerned about Katie and how she was taking it. Kendall knew most of the information but he wasn't about to let on that he knew, he had no idea how safe it was yet. This was a big thing and he hadn't heard from Katie yet at all, he figured he would let her chill out for a while and let this whole thing blow over.

The TV was on in the green room, already on the channel of the morning show they were on. After a few health and tech segments they moved onto consumer news then the regular stories of interest such as an invention or a viral video. Moving onto celebrity news, Walter's mug soon showed up on the screen, silencing the guys as they listened to the story. Kendall was surprised at how much the media new but still there was no connection to Katie.

"Our next story is also from Network TV. Kids Network actress, Katie Pryszweic, known for her lead role on TOSHS, has been deemed missing since last night when she failed to report to a meeting earlier in the day. Police declined to comment on the matter unsure if her disappearance was related to Walter's arrest earlier in the week. Katie was on a leave to recover from some injuries incurred on set while filming her show. As most fans know, there was a rift in the group of cast members over an invitation slip up a little over 1 year ago. Although the cast has been seen in public and appears to get along fine, it is unsure if any of this is related to Walter's arrest at this time." the news reporter said.

The guys stared at the screen, mouths agape at what they just heard. Kendall got up and walked out the door before Logan followed.

"Kendall where are you going?" Logan asked

"To find Katie!" Kendall replied

"You have no idea where she is!" Logan called after him.

"I have one idea. I'm not waiting to find out." he replied tossing on his jacket

"But our interview!" Logan motioned

"Forget our interview, Logan! Katie's more important than that, she's our friend man." Carlos pointed out.

He followed Kendall and Logan soon followed suit. James was lost at what was going on, stunned by the story and wasn't sure what to do. He soon chased after them and they all piled into their van, Kendall behind the wheel. He started the engine and peeled out of the lot as their roadies chased after them for a few yards before they threw their hands up in confusion and frustration. Kendall followed the traffic but sped up when he could.

"Kendall, where are you going?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, Katie's house is the other way." James pointed out

"Not anymore. When was the last time you guys were even over that way?!" Kendall said

"Its been a while. About a year or more." Carlos said softly, embarrassed at that fact.

"Its not exactly a good neighbor hood either." James added

"I don't have the time to explain everything but she doesn't live there anymore." Kendall said.

"When did she move?" Logan asked

"I don't know exactly when. But she hasn't lived there for a while, she found a new place that no one knows about; its secluded. She was forced out of her home and its since been destroyed so she cant go back anyway." Kendall explained

"What?!" the group responded.

"Hang on, it's about to get bumpy." Kendall warned

"What do you mean?" Logan asked

"Where are you-" Carlos began

"WHOA!" the guys screamed as Kendall took a sharp turn off the road and sped across the dusty, rocky desert.

Kendall hit the gas and pushed the van as fast as it would go. Its wheels spun at times and it was too lightweight and low to the ground to take all of the dips and bumps too well. After a few minutes of driving into nothing the car soon stalled and refused to start. Kendall hit the steering wheel in frustration and got out, urging the others to follow. They were confused and a bit scared at his sudden personality change but they followed him anyway, leaving the van smoking profusely. In a few minutes they reached the forest at the entrance of the trails in Hollywood mountain. After a mile, Kendall took them off the path and followed the river to the cliff's edge. Several times, one of the guys would ask Kendall where he was taking them but he either remained quiet or vague. Soon the river broke from the side of the cliff, giving some leeway to walk beside it.

"Down there. Follow me and be careful." he said before jumping off the cliff and sliding down the hill.

He landed with a thud, although this time more prepared for the impact. The others followed suit, curious to where they were going, James landed perfectly, Carlos slide down fairly well until he lost his balance and fell the rest of the way down. Logan tumbled most of the way down and landed in the river. The river wasn't that deep but it was powerful so Kendall reached in and grabbed him before he was pulled down river to the waterfall. He lead them down the river a few more yards where there were stepping stones and they hopped across with ease. When Kendall reached the edge of the falls, the others assumed they reached a dead end. Before they could say anything, he jumped off the falls edge. They yelled for him and rushed to the edge to see him just a few feet down on a large rock ledge.

"Come on, guys, this way." he said before continuing on.

The others looked at each other but eventually followed Kendall on whatever quest he was taking them on. Kendall got a bit lost a few times as he looked around for landmarks, he found his way to the cavern and then to the path that would lead them all to the right place. He soon found the bushes and crawled right under disappearing from the other's view. They got on their hands and knees to see a big hole and one by one, followed him in. They were amazed at the sight they were met with, the natural beauty was surreal. They soon saw a tent and Katie's belongings and their hearts sank as they realized the truth; this was where Katie had been living the past year of her life. But the question still remained as to why?

Shadow came charging to them after hearing their intrusion but soon settled slightly at the familiar scents. He got a tad antsy and walked away from them, looking back every now and then and turning in a circle before moving forward. Kendall followed him as the others looked at Shadow confused. Shadow ran from Kendall and Kendall stopped not sure what to do. Shadow soon came back and barked this time, nudging Kendall before running off again.

"I think he wants us to follow him." Carlos said cautiously. Kendall took the lead and the others followed as Shadow lead them to a lumpy mound in the tall grass near the lake bed.

"Oh no…" Kendall sighed before running to it. It was Katie, she was cold, and still, laying in an awkward position and area to say the least. The others came up and looked away, fighting the tears and asking questions. Logan began to look her over and James surmised that she had fallen from the ledge. Kendall looked up and followed the ledge; it was the other entrance, the main one to this whole cavern.

"Guys! She's still alive!" Logan called out. "She's got a weak pulse but she's still fighting!" he tried to see if she would respond but she didn't. With the help of Kendall they began to lift her but Logan noticed her unnatural movements and called it off; she had broken bones and not knowing how severe it was best to keep her as still as possible. James rummaged through Katie's tent for the sleeping bag and unzipped it so it was a full blanket. Using all four of them, they slowly and carefully picked her up and slid her onto the blanket which they carried up the ledge.

It was tough getting up there with the rocks and carrying her but it was doable. Shadow followed them and when they started down the hill he barked at them. They stopped to look and he was trying to get their attention. He kept running to a bush and pawed at the ground. They wanted to ignore him and tried but he just howled and ran around them, herding them back. James took over for Carlos who went to grab Shadow; Shadow jumped away and lead Carlos to the bush. Carlos lunged for Shadow and ran into the bush with a loud thud and he recoiled in pain.

"DAMMIT! What the hell?!" he said cradling his head. He tapped the bush to hear a metallic sound. Shadow yelped and dug at the ground and Carlos dug through the bush which were just leaves and branches to reveal her car. The keys were in the ignition and within minutes, the guys loaded up Katie, Shadow in the back and took off down the path to town, following her tracks all the way down.

Once at the hospital, Katie was rushed behind the guarded doors as a team of medical professionals took them from her and left them standing alone. They tried waiting patiently but it was a long wait. They called everybody they could and spent an hour on the phone with not only Katie's staff but their own staff who were bitching them out for ditching their interview without warning. They explained the situation and although some of their staff was understanding, there was still a big problem that needed to be sorted out. The hospital was soon swarmed with agents, managers, and other staff as well as local police who blocked off the main entrance to the ER to deter any media that might show up when word got out that their were celebrities at the hospital.

After several hours they could see Katie who had surgery to mend a broken pelvis. She was malnourished, dehydrated and pretty banged up but in a week she'd be stronger and after about a month of strict bed rest there in the hospital, she could go home to finish recuperating. Katie slept for the remainder of the day and well into the next. She woke up alone and groggy; her heart began to race and the strange surroundings and the pain she was feeling. A nurse came in at the sound of her monitor going up and administered some morphine to lessen the pain and calm her nerves. In 40 minutes she conked off again, coming in and out of consciousness randomly.

There was strict access to Katie's room, unbeknown to her so she had very few visitors other than her own private medical team. She got lonely throughout the day and wanted someone to talk to but it was best if she got her rest and not move so she stayed in bed, watching TV. She saw the stories of Walter and kept up with the trial updates. He was found to be mentally fit the entire time and was sentenced to life in prison. The leader of the gang Walter hired was also sentenced after revealing the names of all his members who were also caught within a few weeks. The streets of LA were safe to Katie and Kendall once again. How was Kendall? She hadn't seen him in weeks; the last she saw him was the day they were threatened. She figured that was the end of their friendship and cried to herself before drifting to sleep.

After 3 weeks of healing, Katie was stronger and in less pain so it was time to begin a little bit of therapy. She still had another week or 2 in the hospital so for now it would just be small exercises in bed. Later next week she could move slightly more and maybe even walk; it was going to take some getting used to walk again after being in bed for so long. Also the plates and rods in her back that held her pelvis together were going to need to be adjusted or maybe even removed partially. She'd have some sort of metal in her lower back and pelvis for the rest of her life but it wouldn't hinder her from leading a full physical life; she'd be able to run, jump, climb and do all her stunts on the show as well as bearing children in the future if she desired.

Soon enough it was time to start walking, her progress had been going well and she was scheduled to be released in 10 days, a little longer than originally planned but it was to be sure that she was ready. She had a great deal of difficulty walking, unable to move her legs above the knee joint. She was just stiff so some massage was ordered to work out the kinks. After daily sessions, she was sent to surgery to take out the plates on the joints to see if it would improve movement and it did but not too much; the rest of her movement would come back after a while but she was going to need some special care.

On the day she was scheduled to be released she signed all her paperwork and was wheeled out to the parking lot with all her supplies she would need. A limo pulled up and the doors opened to reveal 4 familiar faces. Katie squealed with delight at the sight of BTR and they hurried to accept her welcoming hug. She couldn't help but cry tears of joy as her things were loaded into the limo. She thought she was just going to be sent on a bus to the airport to go home or just dropped off nowhere where she would have to find her way back to the cavern.

Katie hobbled over slowly to the car and slid in carefully, her mobility issues still pretty severe but better than they had been. With the other band members having their own place, there was extra space at the Knight's residence and Katie would be bunking with them from now on, she was welcome to stay rent free for as long as she wanted, even after she was perfectly capable of caring for herself. She was grateful for the offer and was scared to take it but had no other option. Mrs. Knight was the sweetest to her and Kendall helped out a lot as did the other guys; they often stopped by with gifts and flowers to try to keep her in good spirits. Time flew by at the Knight residence and before she knew it, she was on her feet and capable of a steady fast walk. Jumping and climbing would take some time but at least she was making progress. She was grateful for all the hospitality but she felt like a nuisance and soon ordered herself a ticket home to recuperate in the comfort of her own home. It had been a while since she had been home and no doubt the media had caught wind of something and her parents would be asking several questions, plus she missed being home.

Her parents were glad she was home and happy to learn of the long break she was on. They heard about her co-stars arrest but she denied that she knew anything about it. They had heard about the argument between her and her costars almost 2 years ago now and wondered if that had anything to do with it but she played it off cool, telling them they got along fairly well. Katie returned to school, getting extra certifications and maybe even another degree in her time off. She also returned to work at the academy, her pup Shadow by her side. Shadow had been shipped home suddenly after Katie's accident since no one could care for him.

At the academy rumors had been buzzing about everything they had all heard so Katie ordered a meeting to settle everything once and for all. She swore them to secrecy, threatening their jobs if word got out, although she didn't plan on telling the entire truth. She explained all the events they had read, setting facts straight and hushing all the rumors. She gave a quick rundown of her adventures both good and bad and left it at that. Liam came to her office later, fully sorry for his attitude before she left but she wasn't mad at him at all and forgave him. She told him everything that had happened including her latest injury and the ordeal leading up to it, with all the abuse she received from Walter.

She told him about how she tried to return to her secret cavern to hide out but she was chased into the woods and tried to loose them. It was dark and she misjudged her step and fell off the ledge of the entrance to the cavern, falling 20+ft to the ground instead of the water. She was in a lot of pain and had blacked out and when she came too she was too weak and sore to move, she couldn't feel her legs and couldn't move even if she wanted to. She spent the week laying there with no food and very little water until she slipped into an unconscious state. When she woke up she was in a hospital room and learned that BTR had found her just in the nick of time too.

Liam was grateful that his friend was alive, he was worried about her since she left. She was becoming famous and he learnt to accept it but he still had feelings for her that he couldn't help, but he understood her feelings and why she didn't return them and he accepted it. They worked side by side as always for a few months, life returning to normal as she recovered, waiting for word to return to LA to shoot another season or begin talks of negotiation. Either way she would be returning to LA even if it wasn't for her own show; she had been promised and accepted a large part on BTR: Lifestyles. The kid show the guys did had come to an end last year but they still wanted to do a show so they were going to do a documentary type show instead; it'd be full of actual happenings of the band rather than following a well thought out script full of love and friendship drama. Although they had fun doing the previous version of the show, they were excited to move onto something bigger and more mature; they planned to have fun with it though and it wouldn't be too much different than the previous show in regards to high jinks.


	12. Chapter 12

_"Mom?"_

"I'm in the laundry room!" she replied. She was busy doing a bit of refreshing to her linens when Kendall walked in. "What's the matter, sweetheart?"

_"I had a question."_

"Shoot."

_"What does love feel like?"_ he asked suddenly. Mrs. Knight put down the linens and turned to her son in question.

"What brought this on?"

_"I don't know, just curious and confused I guess."_

"Well I must say that's a difficult question to say the least. I don't know if there is a definitive answer. It's really up to the person who's feeling all these emotions to decide what he or she is feeling. Test out the waters and see if you can find the fireworks or sparks that two people in love will feel."

_"Fireworks?"_

"It's an old adage, it describes the feeling two people get when they kiss; it's like feeling or seeing fireworks if the kiss has any meaning between both partners."

"_Oh."_

"Regardless who you have feelings for, don't assume they can or will return them, sometimes its just not meant to be, don't get into something that isn't going to work, that way you'll save yourself the heartbreak." she stated. "I think the best thing you could do is just be a friend to Katie; that's something she could really use right about now." Kendall looked to his mom in shock but soon softened to an acknowledging smile, meeting her warm and reassuring embrace.

Back at the academy, Katie was nearly fully recovered, she had gotten used to moving around with all the metal in her and slowly gained more mobility and recovered her speed and agility. She was cautious at first and at times would be sore from over use but she soon overcame that. Nearly a year had passed before she heard any word about the show. There would be one more season to test the waters of popularity without Walter's presence and the show as a hole; was the show's reputation damaged due to Walter's actions?

Katie packed up her stuff and left, leaving the academy in good hands in her absence and left to LA. Katie lived in her dressing room like before for a few days before being persuaded by Kendall to bunk with his family. She felt welcomed and less stressed now that she could contribute to the household and not being waited on. Because she spent a lot of time at the Knight's residence it wasn't long before the rumors started flying and the paparazzi started snapping pictures of Katie often with Kendall or his family.

Kendall was walking through the house when he passed by Katie's room; she was sitting at her desk hard at work. She'd been fairly busy since she got here, her show had just finished shooting and Kendall figured she'd get some time off but then the interviews and photo shoots started piling in. She spent some time doing paperwork for stuff at home but he didn't know exactly what, she was fairly secretive about the academy and he didn't pry although he was curious. He knocked on her door, making her jump a little bit at the sudden intrusion.

**"**_Hey, sorry, it's just me. I saw you hard at work and I know I probably shouldn't be bothering you but I think you could use a break."_

**"Tell me about it, I could use a few days to myself. Hell I'll take a couple of hours if that's all I could get."**

_"Well, let's take a little trip or something."_

**"Cant. My schedule is packed for the next few weeks, I'm going home for Christmas and I got to play catch up on all of this paperwork that I've been neglecting before I go back. I need to drop off what my agents and the executives need and have decent progress made on my own stuff for the academy."**

_"How about dinner? We can go out to that new fancy restaurant on Ferris Street."_

"**How about just going to Outback? Less formal and quicker."**

_"Sure which ever. I'll treat you to the dinner; just you and me."_

**"Ok, sounds good."**

"_Is tomorrow good for you?"_

**"Yeah it's fine."**

_"Cool, I'll meet you here after I get off work, we're working on the 6th album with Gustavo tomorrow. It's getting close, we're working on the cover art and all those juicy details!" he teased._

**"Cant wait to hear it, I could use some new music on my play list!"** she smiled. Kendall left her to her work and went on his own thing.

The next day, Kendall was running late from the studio and Gustavo wouldn't let them go, he couldn't call Katie and tell her that he was running late and he didn't want to just blurt it out to Gustavo and get everyone looking at him. He wanted to keep this low for right now; his band mates were already teasing him from the rumors flying around due to all the paparazzi photos of him and Katie hanging together. He got out 2 hours late and as soon as he got in his car he tried dialing her number but she didn't answer. He rushed home and flung open the door and ran to Katie's room. She wasn't there and he started calling for her only to be met with his mom.

"She left about a half hour ago. One of her friends stopped by and asked to hang out. She was so happy to see the girl and she grabbed her keys and left. I'm glad she got out of the house for a while, she deserved some time to herself; she's been working so hard." Mrs. Knight said

_"I know. I offered to take her out to dinner tonight, just a night out of fun but I ran late and couldn't call her. She probably thinks I stood her up…" Kendall sighed_

"I don't think so, she's been busy all day in her room. She hasn't gone anywhere and she was in the same clothes as she was this morning. She probably forgot anyway. Don't worry about it too much, when she gets home, talk it over and clear things up with her, that's all!" she continued.

Kendall waited much of the night for Katie to come home but she never did. He was woken up the next morning by his mom; he had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for Katie to come home.

"Honey, did you sleep here all night?"

_"Huh…? Oh…I guess…"_ he said slowly, a little groggy.

"What were you doing, watching a movie?" she asked

_"No, I was waiting for Katie. I wanted to talk to her as soon as she got in. I must have dozed off as it got later. Is she still sleeping?"_ Kendall asked

"No, she's not here. She called me last night and told me that she was sleeping over at Jess's house. She'd be back as soon as she woke up. She's just coming to grab her bag and then heading to the studio all day for promo shoots. She wont be back until late again." she explained

_"Darn. Oh well, I'll catch her soon enough I guess. Maybe I'll just text her so when she's on break she can respond when she can."_ he sighed.

He did just that as he walked to the kitchen to grab some breakfast before he had to head out as well. He got back before her and waited again but was tired from the lack of sleep he had gotten the night before and soon gave in to his heavy eyelids and carried himself to bed. He was frustrated that he hadn't had a chance to talk to Katie all day and time was running out; in a few days she'd be leaving for home and she was going to be busy up until then.

He had gotten used to the fact that they didn't see each other often at all, they would either text during breaks or Mrs. Knight would carry the messages between them. It was common place in a house full of celebrities. Kendall's older brother and younger sister were both actors, although his brother was in his late 30's now and starting his own family. His sister turned 18 and moved in with her boyfriend in Los Vegas while she took some college classes on and off but ultimately became a model. Kendall was the only one who stayed in LA but he had a nice career going for him that showed no sign of stopping anytime soon. He'd give it up eventually but not now, BTR was at the peak of their fame and only getting stronger by the day, no sense in giving it up now.

He woke up the next morning and checked his phone but still had no messages from Katie. He figured she was mad at him, surely she would have gotten his messages by now. He gave up for the time being, a bit depressed about the whole thing and even lost his appetite. His mom had already left for her job and Kendall was alone. He trudged out the door with a depressed sign and drove off. His heart really wasn't into all the rehearsals and Gustavo really let him have it and too his surprise, Kendall didn't fight back. Something was clearly the matter but Kendall shrugged it off, apologizing to his friends and trying to find enough pep to get him through the day.

When all was said and done, Gustavo dismissing them early, sick of Kendall's lack luster attitude, Kendall shrugged off his friends and drove away. The others stood watching him fly down the lot and couldn't help but wonder what was up with him. He wasn't himself all day but he didn't want to talk about it; they brainstormed what might be bothering him and figured it was just time for a vacation. They could all use one and were starting to burn out and Kendall was no exception, although usually he was the last one to get this bad.

Kendall pulled into his driveway and saw Katie's car sitting in her spot off to the side. He jumped out and sprinted to the door, hopes high. He flung open the door and ran right past his mom to Katie's room where she was quietly packing. She didn't hear him come flying up the stairs and when he just swung around the corner and into her room, yelling her name she screamed, dropping her things to the floor.

**"Jesus Christ, Kendall! You nearly gave me a hear attack!" she called out. "What the heck is going on?"**

_"I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past 2 days! I thought you were made at me for being late when I was going to take you out to dinner. I wanted a chance to apologize, a chance to talk but you never responded."_

**"Really? Sorry about that I had no idea. My phone was stolen and then when it was recovered it was destroyed. I'm waiting to get a new one once I go back home, I'd rather keep the number registered back home to keep it out of the public eye. As for dinner, I didn't really hold you to it. I mean it was a nice thought but I didn't think you meant it."**

_"Why would you think that?"_

**"No one's been that nice to me. Ever."**

"_But I meant it."_

**"Still, it's hard to trust people in general after you've been lied to. Don't take it personally, it's nothing against you at all. It's just that…I have a long history behind me, more so then the death threats from Walter; that was only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. I'd really rather no get into, I'd be going down the same road that I don't need to be."**

_"You can tell me anything."_

**"Not this. Kendall, you're a nice guy, nicer than I could ever imagine but I'm just too damaged to hold a normal relationship of any kind. Maybe someday I could tell you and you'd understand but not now."**

_"Fair enough. Just know that whenever you're ready, I'm just a phone call away. Until you come back that is; this room will always be waiting for you. I want you to trust me; I like you, a lot actually. You're a cool girl and I'm just sorry I didn't see it sooner."_

**"Thanks, those words mean a lot…"**

_"But you cant trust them?"_

"**…No…**" she said shying away. Her eyes started to water and she tried to hide it. Kendall came over and lay a hand on her shoulder before giving her a hug.

"_It's ok. Take all the time you need. I'm here and I'm willing to wait as long as it takes for you to realize that."_ he assured.

He rested his chin on her head and held her tight. She soon hugged him back hard and cried into his chest, letting out all the pain she had been bottling up for so long. She was showing her weaknesses and was scared about it all, she was at her lowest point now and didn't want to face it. She wanted to cling to him as long as she could, thinking that he would leave, just like everyone else, now that he saw so much pain and damage that she had.


	13. Chapter 13

Kendall was sound asleep and comfortable as could be and he didn't want to move or wake up but something was dragging him out of his peaceful slumber. As he became more conscious he heard low laughter but he couldn't tell exactly or where it was coming from. Soon enough he was back in reality and the sounds were definitely laughter and snickering and was that a camera shutter from a phone? He moaned a bit at the sounds and tried to ignore them and snuggle more into his pillow. It smelled sweet yet calming, something familiar; the scent matched Katie's personality like a glove.

The laughter got loud again and he couldn't ignore it any longer. He opened his eyes to see James and Logan standing at the door, iPhones in hand taking pictures and video of Kendall as he slept. He didn't think much of it at first, sure it was a pain but this was fairly normal among them; harmless pranks. He tossed a pillow at them and told them to go away in a playful tone.

"Sure, we can see your busy." James teased.

"We don't want to disturb the two of you." Logan added. Kendall moaned in acknowledgement ad slid back under the covers before his eyes shot open. Two?! He shot up in bed and turned over to see Katie sound asleep next to him. He panicked for a second before realizing what went on last night. He looked down at her and himself and both were fully clothed and although that was a good sign it didn't prove anything. He remembered holding her close as she cried and then they sat on the bed for a while and just talked about anything that came to mind. He came to the conclusion that they must have fallen asleep soon after and nothing else.

He got out of bed quickly but quietly so as not to disturb Katie and let her sleep but he grabbed a blanket off the top to wrap around himself to hide the raging erection that was pushing noticeably through his jeans. He peeked out the door and saw his buds were gone and made a quick dash down the hall to his room and got changed. he trusted his pals to keep what they saw quiet, especially from his mom who was downstairs cooking breakfast for everyone. Katie would be waking up soon no doubt, the strong smells of bacon and eggs were wafting upstairs. Kendall took some extra time to make himself decent before heading down stairs. His mom was in the kitchen and the guys started teasing him as soon as he showed up. He hushed them and laid out the rules.

"Look, nothing happened last night. We just fell asleep while talking, that is all; don't keep talking about this and have it get around. Yes I like her but we all like her, she's a sweet girl. I think she's been through enough since being her so no need to make matters worse with all the pictures floating around. Delete them now."

"Agreed." Logan began." Its one thing to prank and rag on Kendall but Katie doesn't deserve it. it's a cute picture but it's not worth the turmoil."

"Thanks, Logan." Kendall replied.

"I'll delete mine too. And don't worry, my lips are sealed." James assured.

"Mine too, I wont tell a soul." Logan agreed. Him and James looked at their phones for a few minutes as they deleted all the files. With that matter settled, just in time, Katie started moving around upstairs after they all heard a door shut. In a few minutes Katie came down the stairs in her PJ's and didn't think twice about her outfit when She saw James and Logan sitting before her.

"Hey guys!" she smiled

"Morning!" Logan replied. James was about to greet her when Mrs. Knight came in to tell them breakfast was served. She had just started cooking when James and Logan showed up and she was more than happy to make extra for her adopted sons. The guys sat down and dug in and Mrs. Knight served Katie her own plate so she wouldn't lose a hand in the feeding frenzy.

"Want to hang out today, Katie? The guys and I are going to go see the new Uncharted movie." James asked

"Wish I could but I have tons of work to do today. I leave for home on Friday and I'm no where near ready. I'm surprised Gustavo gave you guys the day off." she replied

"So are we but we learned not to question it." Logan pointed out.

"We could use a day off though." Kendall said

"True enough." Logan agreed

"And you choose to spend your day off with each other…?" she wondered

"Yup." James laughed

"Huh. I figured you guys would want your space." Katie said.

"I know, we get sick of each other during the week but when we arent in the studio we seem to get along fine." Kendall said.

"I'm surprised you guys don't kill each other on the road." she joked "Speaking of which, when is the next tour?"

"No idea, there havent been any talks about it. I know we're doing one, but when is still up in the air." James answered

"Production has been busy creating the new series and all that. I could use a break from touring anyway. We need some new music after playing the same stuff for 7 years." Logan added

"Well, get cracking on that album then." She said

"We have been, it takes a while for one, plus we want it to be perfect." Kendall replied

"Maybe by spring we'll have something ready to at least get the promotional stuff going." Logan suggested. He got a text message and checked his phone. "Carlos just bailed on us. Gustavo wants him to work on something." Logan announced

"That sucks, he was looking forward to the movie." Kendall said.

"So am I, him and I can go see it later if I find the time." Katie interjected

"Want to get lunch after?" James asked

"Sure, anywhere specific?" Katie replied

"How about Lou's?" Logan suggested

"Sounds good to me. I'll meet you there around 1 or so." she agreed

"Great!" Logan said.

"I got to get dressed and get going or I'm going to be late. Enjoy your movie, guys!" Katie said excusing herself and running upstairs. The guys cleaned up their dishes and said goodbye to Mrs. Knight and yelled upstairs to Katie just before they made their way out the door. They met for lunch later and spent a good deal of time together before Katie was called away to finish her errands, meetings and other chores.

"You like her." James said flatly to Kendall

"Huh?" He replied caught off guard by his assumption.

"You cant hide it very well, Kendall." Logan added.

"Wait a minute, I-" Kendall started

"Dude, its cool. She's a sweet girl and the two of you have a lot in common. In all honesty I was wondering when you would notice that and make a move." James said.

"You cant stay single forever man, you got to get out and mingle. James seems to think she's a good match for you and it might be true, so give it a shot!" Logan said.

"What do you mean 'might be'?!" James questioned

"You drool over ever hot girl you come across, you don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to relationships." Logan said

"Hey! I'm perfectly capable of holding my own!" James defended

"Name one time that you weren't with a girl because of her looks, fame, or because there was something in it for you." Kendall said.

"I- There was that one time when…Uh…Hold on let me think about this…" James started

"Take your time." Logan said. "Anyway, Kendall, make a move. She isn't going to be here forever."

"I know that. She's leaving in 2 days for home." Kendall replied.

"But who knows if she's coming back?" Logan said.

"What do you mean? You think she's just going to up and quit?" Kendall questioned

"I don't know. She's got a lot going for her back home. I did some research and she's the founder of one of the top animal science schools in the world. I don't think that's something she's just going to give up after working so hard on it." Logan stated. Kendall wasnt as surprised, he had done his research too but since no one talked about it, he assumed that no one else knew.

"She likes acting, she has fun here. If she wanted to quit she would have done it already." Kendall said.

"Not if she was still under contract. Her contracts were 3 year deals and she signed her last contract 3 years ago in May. The show wont be filming again until the summer and only if it's been renewed." Logan explained

"She's got a contract with our show." Kendall replied

"No she doesn't, she hasn't signed yet, and she wont be allowed to until her contract either ends or her agent works out an agreement to work both shows."

Logan said. "Dude, just make a move, its about time you had a girlfriend and I think Katie might be the best choice for you; who knows where it goes."

"But wait a minute." James started. "Think about this for a second. Think of all the crap she's been through during the past year at least; all that abuse from her cast mate sure as hell wont go away very easily. Is that something that you want to deal with? All that emotional damage?"

"Dude, she's not defective merchandise!" Logan chastised.

"Yeah yeah, hear me out though. As far as we know, she hasn't talked to anyone; she's a quiet girl and usually the quiet ones can be trouble. Either that or freaky in bed which aint so bad." James surmised

"Dammit, James enough! She's our friend!" Logan yelled

"Calm down I was just kidding! I like her too you know, I think she's cool, she's just not my type." James said with a laugh

"Kendall, don't waste your life wondering what could have been. Think it over and make a decision, time is running out." Logan said as he stood from the table. "I have to meet my agent for a meet and greet."

"I'm going to hit the gym. Good luck, buddy." James said, patting Kendall on the back as he left with Logan.

Kendall stayed at the table and just sat with his thoughts before being interrupted by Carlos who was finally free from Gustavo's claws. Carlos was chatty for a while before ordering a sandwich for a quick lunch. He noticed Kendall being quiet, although he was listening and responding to Carlos' conversation. Carlos was pretty sharp at picking up subtle emotional changes in his friends, he was a caring guy and very open and honest.

"Kendall, what's up with you?" Carlos asked as he sat down

_"I've just been doing a lot of thinking and I cant seem to find an answer._" Kendall replied

"Anything I can help with?"

_"I'm not sure."_

"Try me?"

_"Well, it gets complicated a bit but I can try. I think…I think I'm in love but I don't know_."

"Who's the lucky girl?"

"_Promise me you wont get mad._" Kendal stated hands up in defense.

"Ok…?"

_"I think I'm in love with Katie."_

"Really?"

_"You mad?"_

"Nope. It's about time you admitted it though. I kind of figured you two would fall for each other eventually, I'm just surprised it took so long to come out in the open." Carlos said taking a bite out of his sandwich. Kendall just sat stunned at his response; did everyone know about his crush except for himself?!

"_The thing is though, I don't think she has the same feelings for me."_

"What makes you think that?"

"_It's a long story."_

"That's ok, I probably know it anyway. I'm her best friend I know a lot about her but even then I only just learned most of this stuff in the past months once she opened up about all the bull shit she was going through with Walter. There's still stuff that I don't know, she's a strong person on the outside, almost seeming cold or emotionless but inside she's soft and warm. It's going to take some time to shine through."

_"I know, but I'm worried that maybe I don't have what it takes. I mean, I know some of the stuff that you're talking about but even after talking with her for an hour or two last night we only hit the tip of the iceberg. I want to be there for her, to show her that I'm not going to hurt her or abandon her like everyone else did. I want to prove that I'm not going to get fed up with everything she has and walk out on her."_

"Then let her know that."

_"Easier said then done…"_ Kendall started. _"For one I don't know how to even begin to put my feelings together to form the words I want to say and secondly, I don't want to scare her away. With everything she's been through, she's not going to accept my feelings very easily. She's scared and cant trust anyone; if I tell her how I feel she wont believe me and push me away, which is just going to hurt her more."_

"She knows how it feels to be rejected and unwanted so why would she want to wish that upon someone else? Especially if she's the cause."

_"Exactly. So what do I do?"_

"Just be the friend that she so desperately needs."

_"But I though that was you?"_

"I'm the type that she thinks she wants and needs. Sure we get along great and I love her like a sister but I'm not the one who can fix her like you can. You're the one who can fill the empty void in her heart and tear down the walls she's built around herself."


	14. Chapter 14

Katie was swamped with last minute work as she hurried to try and complete everything before she left. She had fallen behind and so many things were needed as last minute photo shoots, interviews and promotional spots were done. The guys were just as busy as they finished up recording and mixing their 6th album and promoting it across the nation. Their lunch time rendezvous on Tuesday was the last time they saw her before she caught her flight back to CT.  
Although the Christmas season was just beginning, Katie had much work to do before getting ready for the busiest and most festive time of the year. Thanksgiving had already passed and since she was in LA at the time, her parents wanted to have her around for the occasion so they were celebrating it over the weekend. She didn't have time to make a feast for her employees but they were well treated to the meal offered in the cafeteria for the students although it was a lower quality. Her employees understood and were grateful for her generosity anyway, and they returned the favor with gifts.

Katie was well liked at the Academy, it was the only place that really accepted her and liked her, she knew that most people would just like her because she signed their paychecks and diplomas but there were many people who liked her regardless of her position. Katie treated everyone on campus with respect and although she had a great presence on the campus she never ordered anyone around. All of the best books on how to run a business all said not to get close and be a friend to your employees and Katie followed that guideline but with her own twist on it. She commanded presence to get people to take orders but she was gentle enough not to create too many enemies.

As Christmas got closer, Katie took a break from all of her paperwork and went all out, selecting a team of staff to help decorate the halls for Christmas. Christmas was her favorite holiday and just loved all the decorations and festivities but she didn't overlook the other holidays such as Winter solstice and Hanukkah, which had their own place in the student center, each holiday taking up an entire floor. The campus soon got very festive as the groundskeepers did the outside decorating with flags, lights, ornaments and small trees. The students did their part by decorating their dorm rooms and halls for the upcoming holiday. Christmas was big on this campus and due to its large size, there was plenty of room to house all kinds of decorations.

The academy competed with the nearby park, known for it's elaborate decorating schemes and unique light pieces. Katie had her fixtures custom designed and as such they were highly valuable and bolted to the ground to prevent theft. Cars came from around the state to see the lights in the park but also added the academy to the list. Katie had started charging a small fee to go around the campus before stopping private ventures when crowds had gotten so large. She used her own buses and gas to chauffer tourists around the campus. Even during the weak economy, the academy received several thousands in donations each year just from the flat rate with an additional few thousands from benefactors and other generous donations.

It was very festive at the academy Christmas carols and other songs played in the arena during class, Christmas specials played on a loop in all the lounges and the atmosphere was a buzz with all the joy and warmth. Katie and Liam spent a lot of time together once she returned as always, he missed his best friend and crush every time she left. He got over the fact that she wouldn't return his feelings and kept their bond similar to sibling love. Katie explained how she didn't want to lose their friendship that they had if they started dating, especially if things didn't work out. She was hurt that she couldn't return his feelings and wondered if she was making the right choice, but she soon settled with the fact that if she couldn't make up her mind to begin with, then maybe she just wasn't ready for such a big step. She was still in a fragile state and had only just come out of her shell a little bit, she wasn't ready to trust people enough yet. She wasn't incapable of love, she just had a hard time feeling it then showing it.

As the weeks passed, the campus was still festive and busy but quickly dying out as the preparations to close down had begun. In a few short days, the campus would be closed for the holiday season until mid January. Many students were staying on campus, since it was either too far or expensive to travel and for them they were on their own for the most part. The main cafeteria would be closed but one of the mini café's would be open from 11am to 5pm each day, selling sandwiches, soups and snacks. Finals were being taken and grades were due at the beginning of next week and Katie was rushing to finish all of her grading by the deadline as well as process all the new applicants and other paperwork for the upcoming semester and year as a whole.

Despite the rush to get things done and the ample amount of time she had, Katie was still going to work on December 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve. She wanted to be home but things were just too stressful there so she came in to do some extra paperwork that was lying around in wait to be processed. Katie was dedicated to the Academy so it was no surprise that she was there; she greeted the skeleton crew that was on duty during that day and continued to her office, Shadow in tow. Shadow got free run of the building when school was closed like this; when it was busy, he tended to get underfoot or bother others while they worked as he looked for attention. He wandered around for a little bit but ultimately settled in her office after she called him back when he was gone for too long. Despite his advanced training, he could still get into trouble in his old age. She spent the day at the academy and returned home just in time for dinner; she had more work to do but it could wait until tomorrow. When her parents asked her if everything was done and she replied no, they immediately got on her case about working the holidays.

"You better give yourself a huge bonus for working on the holiday."

"I cant do that, I'll get audited!"

"Then you're not going back!"

"I have to take care of the animals."

"have someone else do it then. Get one of your lower waged workers to do it though, that way the overtime wont be so bad."

"Uh, no, because the lower waged employees don't know how to properly feed, care and handle the animals. Its an accident waiting to happen, along with a lawsuit!"

"It cant be that hard. Write it all down then."

"Its not that easy. It's my business, I went to school for business, I know what the hell I'm doing. This is my money anyway, not yours, so don't keep eyeing my bank account like it's yours when you retire, because it's not."

"All the work we did for you, and you're not going to give us any money?!"

"What about all the money you guys were supposed to save? As soon as I became rich and famous, I saw brand new TV's, appliances, and more. You bought a brand new house!"

"You wanted a new place to live!"

"I had already picked my place, this is not it. This house, caters to your needs and not mine. I wasn't even thought of when you had this place built!"

"What do you mean? There's room for you!"

"My bedroom is in the basement!"

"So?"

"Over 4,000 square feet in this house, 3 bedrooms upstairs and I get the half finished basement as my bedroom, kennel AND office?!"

"I didn't want all the dogs running around and making a mess."

"I'm a world renowned dog trainer, did we not go over this?"

"You train them not to listen to me!"

"I did not! I trained them to behave using commands and learning their place in the pack. You guys didn't bother setting your place, that is not my fault. I told you exactly what to do and you told me I was being mean to the dogs. Well now look, they listen to me and walk all over you without a care. Don't try to pin this on me. I'm tired of living here with you guys to be honest. I'm famous, rich, successful and smart, yet none of that seems to matter to any of you. Its like I'm not good enough no matter what. You cant keep controlling my life, I'm 22 and soon I'll be starting my own life, my own family, my own choices. You need to loosen the leash already and let me experience life. You guys arent going to be around forever and I need to learn how to handle things on my own before I'm suddenly all alone with no one to fall back on. Not only that, I want us to stop fighting and enjoy the time we have together. This used to be the one place I could come to and relax from all the stress, to get away from all the drama. Now this is one of the places I want to avoid; I look forward to flying across the country for months at a time and working long hours because I dread coming home. Without the warm welcome I always used to get, it's not worth coming home anymore. I have no place to go now and get away from everything. Instead I have to suffer through it with no help and that's not fair to me. It's getting to the point where its just not worth getting out of bed anymore." she said loudly. She walked away to the kitchen to go down to her bedroom, leaving her parents to think about what she left them with.

She spent a few hours on the computer, just searching the web since she didn't have the motivation to do any work now. She was still adamant on going to work tomorrow, it was already scheduled plus she had to finish a few things before the holiday. She shut everything down and packed up some of her stuff so she could leave almost as soon as she got up before turning into bed for the night. Her mind was racing with so many thoughts and it seemed like she would never be able to fall asleep but soon enough she awoke to see the sun shining through the basement doors, telling her that she did indeed get some much needed shut eye last night.

She was a bit tired and slow moving as usual, more so because it was so cold in the basement, there was no heat. She was not allowed to have much of it since the space wasn't insulated, it was a waste of electricity to warm it so she had to muscle through it. Shadow was standing on the other side of the door leading to the backyard, waiting to come in now that he saw her up. She let him in before making her way to the bathroom to start her day. Her parents weren't home which surprised her, what could they possibly have to do today, on Christmas Eve? She grabbed some breakfast and once she was finished she headed out the door, leaving Shadow behind today.

Since it was so early, Katie was the only one there for the moment. She locked the doors behind her and went straight to her office, wishing she brought Shadow. Unable to focus on her work because she was alone and felt a bit intimidated at the silence, she went to the kennel and brought out the Great Dane for protection if she needed it. To save on some heating bills, the dogs were moved to the original kennel that was attached to the main building, so Katie didn't have to leave the building to get the protection she needed. Soon enough her secretary showed up but she also kept the door locked.

Liam arrived through the back door and alerted the girls to his presence before he went straight to work caring for the animals. He had plenty to care for but he only needed to feed, water, exercise the dogs and clean the cages daily. Depending on the weather they were groomed and only if needed for the breed or if someone rolled in the mud. Liam was efficient at his job and could do all the daily chores for the animals in only a few hours before moving on to the next project. He was just about finished when he was paged to the front desk where Katie's secretary was.

Sandy, the secretary was working along side Katie, helping with paperwork and past records from when Katie was in LA. Rango the Dane was wandering the halls just outside Katie's office when he got antsy. He had heard something but wasn't sure. Katie noticed his behavior but he didn't seem frantic so she brushed it off. Rango sat down after a minute and wandered to the library down the hall. Sandy returned to her desk after Katie was set with her work and she began her own. A knock on the door made her jump at the sudden and unexpected intrusion. She looked up to see a man at the door, she didn't recognize him but then again it was kind of dark both inside and outside of the building. A snow storm was brewing for later tonight and it was going to be cloudy all day as it moved in. Sandy turned on some lights to see better but she still didn't recognize the man.

He seemed friendly enough, he was calm and welcoming but she was a bit timid at the idea of opening up. The campus was supposed to be closed so no visitors were allowed but something was telling her not to open it up. She held up a finger to tell the man to wait a sec and she picked up the phone, keeping an eye on the patiently waiting man who know wore a confused look on his face. After she hung up she waited for a bit, avoiding eye contact with the man. He tapped on the door again and tried to speak but Sandy just stood at her desk before looking to her left and suddenly getting up and leaving. The man tried to follow her but lost her with his limited view.

Sandy soon came back in, Liam at her side and he walked up to the door confidently, talking with Sandy and the man soon got the hint that Sandy was just unsure. Liam walked up to the door and unlocked it and the man stood back to allow for some space.

"Can I help you?" Liam said strongly yet friendly enough.

"Sorry to bother you on the holiday, I'm a bit lost and I was hoping you could help me?" the man replied

"Where are you trying to go?" Liam questioned

"Well I'm looking for an animal school and I saw a busted sign out front that had something similar. Is this the Academy of Canine Science?" the man asked

"Yes it is, but we're closed. How did you get in here?" Liam answered

"The security guard at the front just asked for some ID and then let me in." the man explained

"I see, he's not supposed to let anyone in." Liam sighed

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't mean any harm and I didn't want anyone to be in trouble." the man apologized

"It's alright for now. Is there a reason you're here?" Liam asked

"Yes actually, I'm looking for Katie Pryszweic, I was hoping she was here?" the man replied

"Sandy, is Katie here?" Liam asked her.

"Yes, she's in her office catching up on the records and such." came Sandy's reply

"Oh, she's busy? I didn't think she would even be here today let alone still be doing work." the man sighed

"Did you have an appointment?" Sandy asked

"No, I'm a friend of hers and was just looking to surprise her." the man replied

"I can tell her you're here, what's your name?" Sandy offered

"I'd prefer to surprise her if I could. I know you're all being cautious and I understand that. You can escort me if it helps, I would just really like to say hi and take care of some business I left unfinished." the man said.

Liam and sandy looked at each other unsure. His words sounded innocent enough but they knew that someone was trying to kill Katie in LA over a year ago. What if this guy with the unfinished business was someone from the gang that was supposedly eradicated. The two kept a watch on him and he looked unarmed, his hands were visible but that didn't stop Liam from drawing his tazer gun. The man stepped back in surprise, putting his hands up in defense.

"Sandy!" Liam shouted keeping his lock on the man.

She ran to a box on the wall and opened it before releasing a lever and an alarm sounded off in the distance. In mere seconds the floor was surrounded by echoes and light vibrations as a pack of 20 dogs came barreling down the halls. The man pinned himself against the wall as the dogs soon turned to defense seeing, Liam with his tazer drawn. The man was clearly scared and confused at why all of a sudden he was facing his possible death. He tried to retrace his words but couldn't get very far as growling filled his ears.

Katie had heard the alarm and looked to her monitors to see the emergency situation unfolding. She grabbed her gear and made her way out to the hall quickly and quietly. Rango had come out of the library and although they spooked each other, he quickly took her side and stayed low, seeing her defensive stance. All the dogs were trained to attack and be defensive when appropriate based on cues from the handlers. Katie tip toed down the hall and peered around the corner to see Liam holding the stranger at bay with the pack and his gun. Katie couldn't see the man very well with his heavy coat and hat so she stayed alert as she took the flank and appeared out of the safety of the hall.

**"State your business!"** She ordered, from behind her tazer. Rango started growling and showing his teeth as a warning. The bundled man turned sharply to her voice and went to speak but Rango jumped forward to ward him off.

_"Katie, its me!"_ The bundled man said. He hurried to take off his cap and struggled with the tie. Katie and Liam both had a lock on him and waited until the hat fell to the ground. Katie lowered her gun at the sight of the familiar blond haired boy in front of her.

**"Kendall?!**" she said in confusion. Liam held his position. "**What are you doing here?"**

"_I came to surprise you, we never got to hang out and I didn't get to say goodbye since we were both so busy."_

**"So you came all the way across the country to say goodbye? We have the internet out here, it's not that much of being in the sticks."**

"I_ know. But I had to talk to you too and I didn't want to do it over the phone…" he started. "can we talk or is now a bad a time?"_

**"Now is alright I guess, you're here anyway."**

_"Then can you…uh…?_"

**"Oh, right." she began "Dogs! Stand down!**" she ordered and like clockwork the dogs stopped their growling and defensive measures while Liam held his position with Rookie the German Shepherd at his side still growling. "**Liam, everything's cool."**

"You sure?" he asked

"**Positive."** she replied

"Ok. Rookie, stand down." Liam said. Rookie snorted in acceptance

**"Dogs go home"** Katie ordered and the pack trotted off out the door to the kennel where Sandy followed them to be sure they all returned to their own pens and everything was locked up.


	15. Chapter 15

After everything was deactivated and put away, Liam left to finish his chores, Sandy returned to her desk and Katie brought Kendall to her office, leaving the door open so Rango could go in and out. No one would be bothering them so they were free to talk in privacy.

**"So what's going on? Why are you in Connecticut on Christmas Eve?**"

_"I was doing some thinking and some discussing with the guys and I just…I don't know really. Our conversation that we had a few nights before you left really sticks in my mind. I had no idea that a person could suffer so much and still stand alone."_

**"It's not easy but when you learn that you are all alone, you have to rely on yourself to keep going."**

_"But you don't deserve that!"_

**"It's the way life works sometimes, it's not always fair." she replied. "Hear me out. I'm grateful that you came to visit but why did you come all this way? I still don't understand why this couldn't have been done over skype or something."**

_"Do you know how long it took me to find this place?! I had to take a train out here and I just really wanted to see you. I still have strong feelings for you, even after you turned me down. I know how you feel about the whole dating and relationship thing but I still would like to take you out to a nice dinner. Maybe would could go out for a nice Christmas Eve lunch instead, before everything closes?"_

**"I suppose I could take a break. I'm not going to get anything done right now anyway; I'm still worked up from all the activity a little while ago."**

_"About that…can I be added to a 'no kill' list or something so I'm not greeted by 20 jaws of death?"_

"**Haha, yeah, I'll get you a badge made up and bring it next time I'm in LA. For now, just wear this lanyard.**" She said, opening her drawer and pulling out an orange visitor pass. Kendall tucked it into his pocket before getting up.

"_Let's get some lunch?_" he asked.

"**Sure.**" she said with a smile.

She followed him out to lock her office behind her and then lead him down the halls to the main door, waving farewell to Sandy. Since there was a threat of snow, Katie told Kendall to pull his rental car into the garage for protection. She opened the garage door up and he pulled inside; she followed it until he pulled into the stall before she kept going to her stall. Kendall was just climbing out of his car as the roar of her engine filled the small space. She pulled out of the stall gracefully, her sleek and shiny car pulling up beside him. He hopped in and she drove off across town to the fanciest restaurant she knew of, per Kendall's request.

The place was just opening up for the day and wouldn't be busy for quite some time since it was more popular for the late lunch and dinner crowds. They were seated in a side room, kept away from the upper class clients that were coming it. Although both of them were celebrities, the staff and guests had no idea who they were and just treated them as random teenagers who failed to dress appropriately for the environment. Katie never had a problem before and didnt mind being away from all the snobby rich people anyway. They both ordered a full course meal, Kendall ordering fish and Katie went with an old fashioned Chicken Parmesan.

They spent the after noon just talking more about everything and anything. Kendall wanted to be supportive but he also wanted to know more about Katie than she was letting on. He wanted to know exactly what was going on in her head. He was prepared for a lot of stuff but he was prepared for everything that he heard. Katie spent years being tormented verbally and had friends but never a true friend until high school but soon the problem grew and she was cut off from the world she so desperately wanted to cling to and fit in. As she got older the problems never went away, she was constantly bullied by everyone and the tension at home was only getting stronger. She was always caught in the middle or in a corner and had no way out; no way to vent her feelings or frustrations and was forced to let them build until she could stand it no more. So many times she wanted to just quit life but not die, she just wanted to stop everything from moving forward.

She became so mentally and emotionally damaged that she just couldn't function anymore. She spiraled into a depression, long before Walter started abusing her but yet she hung on, looking for the light at the end of the tunnel that supposedly everyone had. She was constantly pushed under her own sea of sorrow and pain but managed to stay afloat for all these years. She lost most of her friends when she attended college and although she tried to make new ones on campus, no one wanted to make that connection with her. She had been hurt so many times before and didn't want to start over so she shut herself off from the world as she trudged through life, hanging on to a tiny thread of hope that someday things might get better.

Things only ever got worse for the most part, usually after she took one small step forward, she'd end up 5 large steps back. She was scared to open up to anyone or even talk to a person. She grew to hate social interaction out of fear and a few times had actually gone mute but was only ridiculed more for her lack of ability to speak. She just gave up with socializing and felt hurt the more she was ignored, even by her own family. She felt useless to everyone around her and waited so long for someone to swoop in and save her from her misery but she knew that a day like that would never come. Everyone is supposed to live happily ever after but she didn't think she was going to get one.

**"Not everyone gets to the happy ending in their story. I decided a long time ago that I am one of those people. I can try with all my mite to try and make something of myself but I'd never be happy. I cant change the way I am and I'm not all that happy with it but it is who I am and I've learned to deal with it." she said.**

_"But you don't deserve it! Why cant you see that?" Kendall started "You are the nicest person that I have ever met. You have the biggest heart and the kindest soul. You always want to see others smile but you never take time to smile yourself."_

**"I make others smile because I know what it's like to be sad. I know what it feels like to be told I'm useless or that I will never amount to anything. I know that pain and I would never want to wish it onto somebody else. Pain of the heart hurts the most and it is the hardest to fix and even the ones who did this to me don't deserve the pain that I'm feeling and have gone through."**

"_If they felt it, then they'd know to stop. They'd know what they did to you and feel guilty."_

**"Everyone has a purpose on this planet, somehow and some way. It doesn't matter what religion you follow, what god you worship or what you believe; each of us has a story to go through and complete. I don't know what mine is but somehow, this all fits in it. Maybe I'm not supposed to have a happy ending, you know?"**

Kendall was about to respond when their waiter brought the check. Kendall picked it up and slid his credit card inside, promising Katie that he really meant paying for lunch. Once he signed the receipt, he grabbed his stuff and followed Katie out the door. The ride back to the Academy felt long since it was so quiet; Kendall had no idea what to say or even where to begin and Katie was just having an internal panic attack from regret that she told him so much and that he paid for lunch. She worried that he was going to expect something from her later that she had no intention of giving. She pegged Kendall as the respectable type and that he wouldn't ask for sex or anything like that but she wasn't sure, she did say she couldn't trust people after all.

She just worried that she said too much and sounded petty. Her abuse was nothing compared to big problems of the world. She had a roof over her head, food on the table and had many luxuries that other people arent fortunate enough to have. Yes she wasn't always rich and her family struggled with finances a lot when she was a kid and even into her teenage years but she still had a lot of things that other kids didn't. She was never physically abused by her family and her parents always claimed that they loved her and bought her gifts and such to prove it although a lot of times she felt their words meant nothing and in fact the gifts were just disguises. Each time she was 'thanked' or 'spoiled' later that day she'd be yelled at or talked down to. On several occasions she was even denied food or given physical punishment. From this she had become brainwashed in a way, she knew nothing else but to abide by her parents rules and although she enjoyed the freedom at college, she just couldn't break free from her parents grasp even if she wanted do; she had this attachment from all the pain and didn't want to leave. She didn't want to face life without the people that she believed that she could rely on no matter what.

Not only did she feel petty but she thought that by exposing all that she did over the past couple conversations that Kendall would just forget about her and not want to have to deal with her problems. He said that he liked her but that was before he knew all of her pain that she was going through. Not only that but did he only like her out of pity with what had happened with Walter. She couldn't tell if things just weren't adding up because of her mistrust or if things really weren't as they seemed. She liked Kendall, more than a friend actually and although she wasn't sure that she was even capable of love with all the doubt and negativity that she had been feeling, she did have fairly strong feelings for Kendall. It was more than adoration of his role as a celebrity, she fell in love with his personality. He was level headed, down to earth, and they just had a lot in common. He was genuine and caring, he was everything Katie could ever imaging in a boyfriend but she just wasn't ready to face her feelings, nor did she know how. The thing is, did she ruin any chance she had with him by laying almost everything out on the table? How did she know that he wasn't going to just get up and leave her; just like everyone else who said they would be there.

Katie pulled up to the gated entrance to the academy and the security guard let her in. She drove through the lengthy driveway and parking lot before pulling up to the garage and entering her number to unlock and open the door and her stall. She carefully backed in her truck and the two of them got out, Kendall waiting out in the main drag for a minute before coming back to the car to see what was taking Katie so long. She seemed to be a bit tired but he figured it was all the work she was doing plus the subject of discussion today wasn't exactly thrilling nor positive.

_"Are you alright?"_ he asked as she shut the door.

**"Yeah…"** she said slowly and softly. **"Just a bit tired and a little down at our conversation today. I want to apologize about that, you didn't need to hear all of that.**" she continued as she walked out of her stall. She pressed the blinking button on the keypad and the door shut before the entire keypad blinked red a few times and then shut off signaling that it was locked. They continued down the ramp and out side and saw snow starting to fall slowly.

"_Don't worry about it. I know you have this thing about trusting people and I kind of understand it from your point of view but I want you to be able to trust me. I really meant it when I said I liked you; I want to know more about you and to help you through this if I can. You don't deserve all this pain and torment, you deserve to be happy, just like the rest of us."_ he smiled as he opened the door to the entrance. Sandy had gone home so the internal door was locked. Katie pulled out her key and unlocked it as she listened to Kendall. Rango was still running loose so she left the door unlocked so he could guard against intruders but still have a means to escape if in fact Kendall was planning something she wasn't going to like.

"**Still, it's just…these are petty problems and they're mine. It's nothing to complain about nor is it anyone's business; everyone has their own problems to deal with and I'm no different."** she said, heading to her office. She unlocked the door slowly, sighing as she spoke.

"_Not everyone has the same problems to go through and no one should have to go through it alone._" he said sternly yet gentle as he looked into her eyes.

His green eyes were shining bright with feeling and life. Katie turned away and was ready to cry, feeling upset at the fact that she still felt nothing, nor could she trust anything. She felt just as useless as everyone had always told her; she hated feeling like such a mess and bother to others and this was no different. Here Kendall was, lying out his feelings in full color, yet she couldn't help but stomp all over his heart. She hated doing it but she had no control over the matter and just couldn't stand it. He went to comfort her but a knock at the door caught them both off guard. Katie turned to see Liam at the door with a pile of paper work.

**"Liam!" she grinned. "What are you still doing here?"**

"I had some extra stuff to do today before closing. I have no where to be anyway, my parents went to Florida for the holidays and I was going to meet them there but I thought I'd just stay home, Christmas is special and all but I could use a vacation myself." he replied

"**Going anywhere?"** she asked

"Just upstate, maybe New York. I've got a few friends around there to couch surf. I can take in all the festivities there and then maybe hit a casino or something. Christmas hasn't been much fun since I was a kid so I'm not missing anything." he said.

**"Well as long as you arent going to be alone. I feel bad enough that I had some of my staff work today, I'm not going to be happy if someone's left out during the holidays." she stated**

"Nope, all taken care of. Here's my sign-off and the yearly total, I did it up early since I wont be back until after the new year." he smiled

**"Ok, great. Estimates are fine." she said as she quickly looked over the list. "You groomed the dogs and cleaned the cages so they should be good for the week on just pickup. I can handle bathing if it's necessary. This looks great, thanks." she said.**

"No problem. I'm still going to be here for another hour or so, I have some other stuff to do before I go." he explained

**"Sure, I'll be here for a little bit myself. Just let me know when you're leaving and I'll do the same so we know who has to lock the door." she instructed**

"Alright. I'll see you in an hour." he said as he turned to leave.

He returned to the kennel to finish cleaning the last few cages and to let the dogs in and put them away with fresh water and their dinner. He noticed that he left his time card on the desk and ran back to give it to her. He flew around the corner and up to her door and he stopped as soon as he walked in. He stood at the entrance, stunned as he saw Kendall kissing Katie, right on the lips. He looked as though he slightly forced himself upon her since he was holding her shoulders and she was slightly pressed against the bookcase but her arms were free and she wasn't fighting him off. Liam's heart sank at the sight and he backed away carefully to avoid getting caught staring. He walked backwards for a little bit, staring at the floor before turning around and running back to the kennel as he felt tears pushing at his eyelids.


	16. Chapter 16

Liam sat at an old table in the corner of the storage room, letting his feelings just flow out. He was hurt at the sight of Katie, the love of his life and Kendall kissing but there wasn't anything he could do about. Katie made it clear that she didn't like him that way, no matter how much he tried to make it change. He understood Katie's feelings and what she was going through; how much she just needed a friend and he agreed but still it was all too much. It had been over a year, almost 2 years since Katie told Liam how she felt so he figured things could have changed, especially since she and Kendall spent a lot of time together in LA he presumed.

He was jealous to say the least but he wanted the best for his friend and tried to remain strong. He tried to clear his mind and just get back to work; he wanted to forget about the sight he saw but it wasn't going to be easy. He thought that maybe he should quit, it wasn't going to be the same working around Katie if she was taken, he couldn't picture her being with someone else. It would take some getting used to for sure but he didn't want to put in the effort only to end up hurt. He decided to avoid her as much as possible; he was going away for the holidays and sometime in February, Katie was going back to LA for who knows how long which would make it easier on him.

Liam was just getting himself settled when he heard the kennel door slam open and Kendall yelled his name. Liam's heart jumped at the call and his mind buzzed with possibilities; he thought maybe he was caught and Kendall wanted to lecture him or maybe Kendall wanted to claim Katie as his and was confronting Liam. He stood up and exited the room to face Kendall man to man only to be greeted by panic in his eyes. Liam dropped his defense a bit and looked to Kendall in wonder.

"Liam, I need your help! Something's wrong with Katie, she's fainted and she's not responding!" he said, upset clearly in his voice. Liam's eyes widened at what he said.

"What?!" Liam responded.

"Hurry up!' he pleaded before leaving the kennel. Liam followed Kendall quickly after a few seconds and soon caught up to him at Katie's office and he slid into the door frame to see Katie lying on the floor unconscious; just like Kendall said. Kendall was a nervous wreck and had no idea what to do and just stood behind Liam as he inspected her and worked her over.

"Shit..!"

"What!?" Kendall asked panicked.

"She didn't take her meds. Call 911, Kendall, hurry!" Liam ordered. Kendall fumbled with his phone as he dialed the three digits and got to the right station.

"Come on Katie, stay with me!" Liam continued, giving her a shake and a few taps.

"I need an ambulance or something to the…uh…!" Kendall stammered. He was at a loss for words as to where he was . The name of the place was on the tip of his tongue but he was just too panicked to get it out. Liam took the phone and recited all the information as he pushed Kendall towards Katie to keep an eye on her. Liam was walked through a few steps to take and Kendall gave him his space to work. Liam told him to go wait at the front door and watch for the medics, since he was of no help right now as he paced the room looking over Liam's shoulder.

It seemed like forever until the medics arrived, the driveway was long but Kendall was fast. As soon as he heard the sirens in the distance he ran to the gatehouse and the security guard let the medics in without question. Kendall met them half way and waved them over before running away back to the main building. The trucks parked haphazardly and they filed out quickly, grabbing their gear and other supplies and then met Kendall at the door, to receive their directions. Straight down the hall and down the first left, they found Liam and Katie. Liam backed off and let the medics do their thing. Kendall appeared around the corner and peeked through the door frame cautiously yet curiously to see what was going on as he still wondered what happened.

Right after Liam left, Katie pushed Kendall away softly and he broke from her immediately. She was getting a little tense at the whole situation and Kendall understood; he took a chance by kissing her but he wanted to show his affection. He felt it was a little too much after the fact and probably should have went with just a peck. He saw her get a little red in the face and then she went pale as she started breathing heavily . He put his hands on her upper arms and asked if she was ok. She just wanted to sit down for a minute and he went to help her but she took only a few steps before she became dead weight in his arms and she slowly went down. He grabbed her as best he could on such short notice and slowed her descent to the floor. He tried a few times himself to get her to come to, trying a few techniques from the set for when people pass out or faint but this was beyond him and he knew something was definitely not right.

She was rushed to the hospital and in only an hour, she was ready for visitors. She was overworked and collapsed out of exhaustion however she had been so busy that she hadn't been keeping up with her medication for a genetic disorder that was almost cured. Liam knew about the condition but Kendall didn't; he wasn't sure how he felt about that. He learned that it was fairly serious, if let untreated it wouldn't do any harm but it would eventually kill her or develop into something more serious down the road. It was being treated with some medication that she was finally responding too but with all the work of being on 2 shows, plus her own work at the academy put on so much stress that she was really taking steps backwards rather than forward.

Kendall stayed by her side for as long as he could each day before he left. He had no where to go though and when he left, he really just slept in his rental car. She ended up missing Christmas altogether but it wasn't a big deal, it was a day like any other to her; she didn't have any gifts waiting for her back home. Her parents did visit when they could, they both worked after Katie told them long ago that she wasn't going to just let them sit around with her millions all day. Kendall was with her during the day and at night when her parents got off work, he left her with them. He talked a bit with her parents off and on, mostly her mom; he learned that Katie really liked him, for a long time now. Her mom was happy that she had made friends and got to meet her idol; she told Kendall how much Katie used to smile all the time and that she missed seeing it.

He had new hope that maybe she'd come around and return her feelings and he was willing to prove that he did love her. He knew it would take some time and he was willing to work at it. After a few days, Katie was good as knew; a little stiff from being in bed but she was her chipper old self. She was back on her medications although know it was a stronger dose and it would be another year before she'd be cured. Kendall was constantly over her to be sure that she did take her medicine; he stayed in Stonington for the remainder of his vacation, living in the dorm with the other students at the academy. He was liked by her parents but not that much that he was allowed in the house, although they werent to fond of him staying at the academy, a place they weren't allowed to go. Kendall assured both of them, as did Katie that nothing was going on that anyone would regret but it was just the principle of the fact the two were always together that bothered her parents. Kendall made himself useful and worked hard, Katie showed him no favoritism and gave him the harder chores, Liam at his side. Liam was a little cold to Kendall at first so he cleared the air.

_"You don't like me do you?"_ Kendall began. Liam was caught off guard at his question and just stopped his work to think.

"I don't know. I mean I get that Katie likes you but I don't see it."

_"Oh. I see. I'd like to be friends, you obviously mean the world to Katie and you know more about her than I do."_

"Its true, I do know more about her than you, but I'm not going to tell you everything."

_"I wasn't expecting you to. Why are you so cold towards me?"_

"I'm jealous alright!" he yelled. Kendall took a step to the side in surprise as he stared wide eyed at Liam. "Look, I've known Katie for so long and I love her but she could never return my feelings. I care about her so much and know all of the pain and hardships she has been through. I'm the only person she talks to but yet I still don't know everything that's boiling in her head; there is more in her heart then she leads on. When she told me that she was going to LA to start a career in acting, I was a little shocked at it to say the least. Deep down I didn't think she would make, nor did I want her to but that hurt me to think that I wanted someone I love so much to fail."

"_But she came back when she wasn't filming."_

"But it wasn't enough! I wanted her here with me. I didn't want to give her up to the world and have to fight for her attention. I didn't want to fight for her love, I wanted to be the one that she loved and when she denied me I didn't want anyone to have her. And now, she has you and she'll probably no longer need me…"

_"That's not true! As cheesy as it sounds, you're someone that I cant replace. Katie needs a friend like you to talk to. Regardless of who she falls in love with shouldn't matter, what matters is that she's happy and has the life that she deserves."_

"Easy for you to say, you know she loves you." Liam began "I heard Mrs. P talking with you, she told you how much Katie adored you before she even met you. It's true, she talks about you a lot, how it was her dream to be friends with you or to have a boy friend like you."

"_Doesn't sound like she ever said she wanted to date me though."_

"But now that she's famous she can date just about anyone she wants. If she wants a guy like you, what's stopping her from getting you." Liam continued. Kendall didn't know how to respond, he knew what Liam had said was true. "I saw you guys kissing a few days ago anyway, it's clear she's made her decision. But like you said, as long as she's happy, I shouldn't stand in her way." he sighed. He turned to Kendall who looked at him curiously before extending a hand. "Take good care of her, Kendall. Be the man that she needs and deserves." he half smiled. Kendall took his hand firmly and smirked back in appreciation.

_"I will. Thanks, Liam."_ Kendall said.


	17. Chapter 17

Shortly after the new year, Kendall had to return to LA to begin filming the final season of the original BTR. The new series would be filmed later in the year after a short tour to cover Katie's show so she could join them in the new one. Although Katie had graduated, she was going back to school to extend her abilities to other areas of certification. For now she'd be putting it off for a year or so as she did her show, the guys' new show and work at the Academy.  
As the fall season approached, Katie returned to LA for the new Big Time Rush series that was taking place on a new lot. She had cleared out everything from the old studio and brought it to the new one where she had ample room to lay everything out and work from LA. The show was a big success during it's premier and the popularity soared through the roof as their music made it's way to the top. BTR was always mildly popular but know they were superstars and every little move they made was captured on film.

Word soon started floating around about Kendall and Katie living together, although to original fans of one or the other or both, this wasn't news. Instead of getting her own place, she lived rent free with Kendall and Mrs. Knight in between shoots. The rumors started flying that the two were dating but when asked, they both denied the accusations. Nevertheless, both celebs received a fair amount of hate from super fans that wanted their pop idol to themselves and not to another celeb. Both had gotten used to the hate and weird fans and took it in stride, hiring protective services to get them through daily errands and such.  
Katie was very grateful to her fans and never denied someone a picture or autograph, unless she had an emergency which was very rare. Still, it didn't stop the haters from talking down to her our accusing her of being a liar, thief or overall bad role model. While it was true that Kendall and Katie spent a lot of time together, neither were certain about what actually was going on. Despite feeling comfortable around Kendall, Katie just couldn't bring herself to accept and deal with her feelings. She was still fragile and scared; Kendall understood that and remained patient but Katie didn't know how much longer he would put up with her. She didn't want him to get away but she was just too scared to reach out and connect with him.

This year Katie would be spending Christmas in LA, she was far too busy to go home and although her parents understood, they weren't to happy about it and neither was Katie. Kendall and his mom were super nice and made her feel welcome but she wanted to be home for Christmas like every year, especially to make up for last year when she was in the hospital. To help make matters better for herself, she decorated her room as much as she could to feel festive and cheery although she didn't spend much time in it. She spent much of her time in her new office as chief of marketing and design where she designed new merchandise for the different live action shows including her own and BTR's original show.

Katie spent the day before Christmas Eve in her office and she was bound with work that she needed to catch up on. She ended up spending the night unknown to the Knights and when they called her for breakfast the next morning they wondered where she was since her bed was left untouched. Kendall searched all over for her but all the studios and offices were locked. He finally found a security guard at the corporate office and he led Kendall inside. They both found Katie, literally buried beneath a pile of scattered papers as she lay sprawled on the couch sound asleep. He sighed in relief seeing her in her exhausted state and nothing more. The guard smiled and left them alone and Kendall ordered some sandwiches to munch on while he took a peek at all the scattered papers and attempted to complete a few of the forms himself. It was near noon by the time she started to stir. She slowly stretched out and moaned lightly as the piles of papers started to fall to the floor. She rolled over slowly to get up and saw Kendall sitting at her desk.

_"Morning, sleepy head. I see you've been busy."_

**"No doubt about that…" she said softly as she stretched her arms above her head. "It's been s busy and I never expected this much work, this isn't normal at all."**

_"I tried filling in some lines but I wasn't sure if I was helping or hurting so I stopped. The ones that I did fill in are right here."_ Kendall said, holding up 3 pages.

"**Thanks. I'll check them over but I'm fairly sure that they are probably fine. It's straight forward stuff."** she trailed off noticing his sandwich.

"_Here."_ He said tossing her one. She unwrapped it to find a roast beef and cheese club, her favorite kind of sandwich. She wasted no time in sinking her teeth into it in an attempt to soothe her rumbling stomach. She hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday so she was quite hungry. Once they finished, they returned home where Katie hit the shower and relaxed for the day in preparation for the upcoming holiday.

Christmas came and went and right after the new year it was back to work again, starting off slowly with interviews and promotions before jumping into the new season of the shows a bit later than normal in March. Katie's show was renewed again but for a very short season and it had been postponed until the summer since her cast mates, Jenna and Brady, who had started dating, got into a car accident and were on a medical leave for a little bit to recover. Katie's show was in its 7th season and was well past its expiration, yet somehow the rating kept it a live. Katie wasn't getting bored with it, in fact she loved her show's theme but her cast mates just didn't get along and ideas for the show had started to run thin 2 seasons ago. She knew the day would come when it went off air so she just enjoyed it while she could.

Over the course of the next few months Katie felt oddly different towards Kendall. She liked him but she remained distant to him and the other ban members. She couldn't really put a finger on it as to why but she hoped it wasn't just herself getting more complicated than she was. She figured she was just stressed out and trying to get away from everything so as soon as her show wrapped in early July, she was free to go and she returned home to CT without a second thought. It wasn't long before she missed the guys and realized just how happy she was with them around, especially Kendall.

They kept in contact when they could but they were on the road a lot on an international tour so wifi was often hard to come by. The weeks ticked by slowly although Katie kept herself busy with work; she missed Kendall and just waited for the day he could call her. They had gotten quite close and even the magazines and other media outlets had picked up on that. The celebs still weren't confirming or denying their relationship status but they were indeed together and had been for more than a year now. Katie was really coming out of her shell and Kendall only fell more in love with her kind heart and gentle personality; there wasn't a mean bone in her body.

The duo spent a lot of time together and it was clearly obvious that something was going on between them but until they acknowledged it, there wasn't too much proof. Despite having camera's constantly around them for their documentary show, Kendall and Katie often found time to be alone or if they couldn't, they'd just hang out and do simple things, just as they would if they were one on one or as a group with the other band members. Katie spent a lot of time with Carlos as well, since he was one of her best friends. James and Logan got fairly attached to her as well, loving her like a sister almost.

After a party to celebrate the release of their 10th album, the band and a few friends crashed at James' condo around 4am. Around noon his cleaning lady came in, through the back door as always, as James left it unlocked the night before she'd arrive; he was one to sleep in so he would never be up at the hour she arrived unless he had to work that day himself. With this new schedule he could sleep whenever he wanted and for how ever long. The cleaning lady, Monica, was surprised at the mess she walked into, cups, plates, napkins, party hats and even confetti were all over the house starting in the garage. James' sports car was covered engine to trunk in the glittery mess. Monica started picking up the few things she saw to throw away in the kitchen, without a care; until she walked into the kitchen to see the rest of the mess.

Carlos was passed out on the couch, the Jennifers on the floor around him. Dak, Guitar Dude, Camille, Lucy and Tyler, who was now 19, were scattered through out the first floor. James was sound asleep, passed out actually, in his bed; he was diagonal and facing the wrong way sleeping in a heap of blankets. Logan was stretched out on the deck chairs outside on the patio, lucky for him the weather was nice and sunny today. Monica picked up as many of the big pieces of garbage as she could quietly to let all the guests sleep but she was a tad frustrated at the mess. Monica had been serving James for years now and they had a good relationship and in fact they dated for a little while before his schedule became too much for her and she called it off. They got along well and decided to remain friends. She went upstairs to his room and shoved him hard to wake him up but he was out cold. A few more tries and he started to stir as he moaned in discomfort.

"James, wake up!" she said harshly.

"nnnnnn…." he moaned

"This house is a mess and all your friends are scattered around the house, passed out and probably hungover. I'll clean up the garbage but I am not cleaning up your drunk friends. Get up find them all and send them home or something." she said.

He moaned in response but he didn't move. She sighed in frustration and left to continue cleaning the house. Even upstairs had all kinds of debris and trash; several items were misplaced and some were broken; Monica would have her job cut out for her today. It was an hour before James actually got up; his head was spinning and he was nauseous beyond belief. He was dizzy and light headed as he got up but his first instinct was head to the bathroom. He stumbled his way in and felt around before falling to his knees and emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He was there for quite a few minutes before he was stable enough to move away.

He went to grab some toilet paper to find it missing, as well as the entire holder ripped from the wall. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sat on the floor against the shower as the toilet flushed. He closed his eyes for a few minutes to gain himself before pulling himself to his feet and rummaging through his medicine cabinet for anything he could use for his hangover. He found a small green box and tried to read the small print but his vision was blurry. He could make out upset stomach and fever and decided it was good enough. He stumbled from the bathroom and fell back into bed to try and make the room stop spinning; and after 20 minutes or so, he succeeded.

Feeling a tad better but still not at a functional level, he went down stairs. He didn't get far before hitting an empty cup and sending liquid flying everywhere. The fumes of the strong alcohol made his stomach churn and he made a break for it to get past it. He turned the corner of his staircase to see his living room full of people. He was shocked for a moment before remembering what happened last night; plus the familiar faces were somewhat calming. He could hear a faint noise coming from somewhere and as he got off the staircase he saw Logan hunched over the railing on the patio as he vomited hard. James turned his head and covered his ears to drown out the noise and action, otherwise he'd want to do it again himself. Logan soon finished and just stood quietly to catch his breath; James went outside to greet him.

"You too, huh?" James greeted

"I guess. Must have been that strong stuff that Matty brought. I had no idea that stuff could pack a punch." Logan said in between breaths

"Me either, never again. I'll just stick with beer and softer stuff like wine…" James sighed

"Fun party though." Logan commented

"Yeah, I had fun. My head is killing me and I cant see a thing though." James explained

"Same. Need help cleaning up?" Logan offered

"Probably. I don't think Monica is too happy with all this. Help me wake everyone up and get them out of here before my living room turns into a vomitorium." James smiled

"Sure. Who else is here?" Logan asked

"No idea. Most likely just our friends from the Palm Woods." James replied

"Dude, everyone who came last night was our friend from the Palm Woods." Logan surmised

"I mean our actual friends, not the ones who were just hear for the party. Everyone else left way before the party ended. Carlos, Kendall, Katie, Dak, Guitar Dude, Tyler Camille, Lucy and The Jennifers should be the only ones left. Where they are exactly I have no idea; check the entire first floor, they could be anywhere." James mentioned

"Trust me I know. I woke up on the deck chairs. They weren't bad though, quite cushiony." Logan laughed

"Some how I'm not surprised…You don't handle your alcohol well." James teased

"I'm learning! It's all in the timing really, I just drink it too fast…" Logan said sheepishly

"Whatever, just help me get everyone out of my house." James said.

Logan followed him inside and started by shaking Carlos out of dead sleep. Carlos rolled away from Logan's touch but rolled off the couch and landed on the floor with a thud, just missing one of the Jennifer's who had migrated away from the other two who were cuddled together. Carlos moaned at the sudden pain and unpleasantness before forcing himself up and stumbling to the open door and adding to Logan's stream of vomit on the sand below. Carlos was really bad and he was out there for a half hour just heaving up stomach acid and water at one point. Logan tended to him and Carlos just got progressively worse; Logan suggested medics, since he may have been poisoned by something but soon enough Carlos stopped. He was weak and light headed so he just sat on the patio for a little while and conked out.

After an hour, all the guests had been found, woken up and left; except for Kendall and Katie. Monica found a note on James' bedroom door and handed it to him; apparently, Katie wasn't feeling well and felt tired so Kendall took her home early. He said he might come back later, but he wasn't feeling to hot himself after having some of Matty's hard liquor. With that case solved, James went back to bed, while Logan and Carlos continued to crash at James' place to sleep off their hangover.

Katie woke up early feeling well rested, she didn't drink so she never had to deal with anything like hangovers. She was tired in a dragging sense though, she was weak from the night before but her mind was alert. She stayed in her room for a while, not really hungry and did some work on her computer before playing a game. She heard Kendall getting up a few hours later before hearing him wrench his guts out in his bathroom. She went to check on him and he was a sight for sore eyes: trembling, pale, sweating yet cold and clammy. She grabbed a towel out of his closet to give to him so he could wipe his face and tried to help him up but he was too heavy. He just stayed on the floor, to weak to move and short of breath; he soon started to panic at his predicament and couldn't stop shaking.

_"I'm so cold…Katie can you get me a blanket…?"_

**"Sure. Although if you can help me get you into bed, you might be more comfortable."**

_"I cant move." _he said softly.

**"Ok. Let's just move slowly then and see if I can get you across the floor at least. Give me your hands and hang on as tight as you can and I'll drag you alright?"**

_"Ok."_ he nodded weakly.

She got a good grip on him and began tugging before he started to slide slowly across the tile but he soon stopped and became heavier with the friction of his carpet. She tugged harder and he started to budge; desperate to help him she used all her strength to move him to his bed and in a matter of a minute or 2 he was at the foot of it. He slowly grabbed the covers and the side of the mattress and started to hike himself up, with Katie's help. He plopped into bed and Katie then rolled him over and covered him, trying to get him warm. He was still shaking and cold, as he mentioned several times; he had a fever and was sweating profusely as well so something was definitely up with him.

His chill spells were getting worse and he couldn't seem to stay still as he tried to get comfortable and warm himself up. He asked for some water and she ran downstairs to get him some plus some crackers since he threw up earlier. He drank the water carefully and refused the crackers; he was still cold and just getting more nervous.

_"I don't want to drink ever again…! I'm sorry to put you through all this, Katie._"

**"It's ok Kendall. I don't like seeing you this way but maybe you've learned to stay away from hard alcohol; just stick with beer or wines instead. I'll be right here or in my room if you need me ok? Just drink water and eat crackers for today or at least until dinner time. Try and get some rest."** She smiled patting his shoulder.

She pulled the covers up past his shoulders and left, he was already winding down to sleep and didn't last long before he was out like a light. He slept for several hours; Katie hadn't even noticed as she kept herself busy all day doing some organizing of her room and playing a game. She went to check on him and noticed he was still asleep and in the same position. Her heart skipped a beat, thinking of the worst things and she tip toed into his room to take a closer look at him. He wasn't as pale but he was still sweaty and feverish. He was sleeping peacefully and just let him be for the rest of the day as she wandered around the house by herself.

Mrs. Knight was working all day and right after she was catching a flight back to Minnesota to stay for a while and visit with family. She had saved up 2 years worth of vacation, a total of 2 full months and decided to treat herself by going on a much needed vacation. The guys had all moved out, with the exception of Kendall and since he was 23 he didn't need supervision. She was a little skeptical about leaving him and Katie alone together but she was confident that they could be trusted not to get into trouble.


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning Kendall was feeling back to himself but despite all the sleep he got most of the day yesterday and all night, he was strangely tired and disoriented. He stayed in bed and Katie took care of him, which he did not mind at all. He liked being cared for but he didn't want to take advantage of her so he offered to help out when he can. She told him to stay in bed for the time being and tomorrow he could be as active as he wanted; she just wanted to be sure he was well enough that he wasn't going to get into any trouble when walking whether it was just being wobbly or light headed.

Katie felt this strange urge to care for Kendall and although she perceived herself as lazy and doing only what was necessary, she almost enjoyed this kind of work. All the trips back and forth to his room as well as taking over the house chores such as cooking, cleaning and laundry were all a breeze. Kendall tried not to be too needy and not to bother her since he could hear her making a ruckus down stairs. He found it a bit odd himself that suddenly she was vacuuming the floors and washing the windows but he left it alone. He got up a few times and remained quiet as he went back and forth from the bathroom and his closet to try and keep himself occupied. His bathroom was a mess from yesterday and he wanted to spruce it up a bit so there was at least some walking room. Katie said, she'd come back to clean it today but he felt bad by leaving it for her.

He couldn't help but think about the whole day yesterday. For the most part he was in a fog and didn't remember too much all that clearly but what he did remember was after his day long nap when he was more clear headed but just as weak as that morning. His head was pounding, his sinuses were stuffed and throbbing, his body ached. He wanted a hot shower desperately but he couldn't find the energy to get out of bed. He thought it over for a long time and tried so many times to get up but failed. Almost like she could read his mind, Katie came to his room to check on him.

**"How are you feeling, Kendall?"**

_"I'm achy all over and my head is killing me…"_

**"How about a nice hot shower to relax in?"**

_"Sounds great…but I'm too weak to get up."_

**"That's ok, I'll help you."**

_"Uh…"_

**"Come on, up and at 'em! I'll get you a towel to wrap yourself in and I'll help you to the bathroom ok? Let me start the shower and I'll be right back!" She said as she left for the bathroom.**

Kendall was a bit stunned to say the least but he had no idea how to respond. He really wanted a shower but he was kind of embarrassed and confused at her sudden attitude change, not that it was a bad thing though. This was just a little different, Katie enjoyed having fun and sometimes talking dirty or enjoying a sex joke now and then but there was never any merit behind it. But she basically just told Kendall to strip naked and get in the shower, with her there! To be perfectly honest he had thoughts like this all the time but he was raised to be respectable and valued women more than as sex objects. He knew Katie wasn't ready for a step like that and that she was only trying to help but still, he couldn't help but wonder if she actually thought about what she just said. She had since left to get a towel from the hall closet and when she came back he was still just sitting up in bed. He stared at her as she walked over to his bed and tossed him the towel before heading to the bathroom to check the temperature of the shower.

**"It's just about ready, Kendall!" she called. She came back out to find him still sitting there staring at her as she headed to the door "What's the matter? You don't need help do you?"**

"_Uh, no I'm good I think."_

**"Alright. I'll be out in the hall waiting. Once you've got the towel wrapped around you, call me in and I'll help you over to the shower and then you're on your own."** she said, shutting the door behind her. He got undressed with a little effort, slid himself to the edge of his bed to swing his legs over. Once he secured his towel he pushed himself up and tried to balance himself. **"Doing ok in there?"**

_"Yeah, doing fine. I think I can make my way over myself."_

**"Ok. I'll be in my room then!" she called back.**

He heard her walk away and he looked from the door to his bathroom that seemed so far away. Little by little he shuffled his way to the door, pain surging through him and echoing all over. He made it and walked into his hot shower with a huge sigh as it nearly burned him sweetly. It was just what he wanted and he was enjoying it thoroughly. It seemed like only mere minutes before he heard a knock on his open bathroom door.

**"Kendall, are you alright? You've been in there for almost an hour."**

_"Really? It seemed like only a few minutes. I'm alright, I'm just really enjoying the warmth."_

**"Ok, just checking."** she said as she left.

Kendall sighed facing that fact that he'd have to get out soon even though he really didn't want to. He figured he'd enjoy a few more minutes of the silence and massaging water before getting out. He spent another 10 minutes or so in the shower before he started to feel the water cooling down so he turned it off and got out. He was feeling pretty good now though and his head wasn't pounding as much. He grabbed his towel and dried off before entering his room. He went into his closet to grab some clothes but he hadn't done any laundry yet and he literally had nothing to wear; even his suit was gone. He wrapped the damp towel around his waist and left his room to go to Katie's.

_"Katie?" he started. She turned around, slightly startled; she didn't hear him come in. "Sorry about spooking you, but by any chance did you do a load of laundry today?"_

**"Yes I did. I just put in your clothes to the dryer, they arent ready yet. You don't have anything to wear?"** she asked calmly, ignoring the fact that he was in just a towel in front of her, he was still slightly damp on the shoulders as his hair dripped some water from the tips.

_"Nope, I usually wait until I'm on my last outfit."_

**"Seriously, Kendall?"**

_"I hate doing laundry."_

**"So do I but then again I have enough clothes to last 2 months!"** she laughed**. "I have some clothes you can wear for the time being."** she got up from her desk and began rummaging through her drawers before pulling out a pair of lounge pants, a large t-shirt and a pair of boxers. She tossed them to him and he just looked to her with a surprised look at the clothes she just gave him. "**What? Me's clothes are comfy, besides they come in handy for cases like this."**

_"It's not the clothes, a lot of girls have mens shirts but why do you have mens boxers?"_

**"Summer PJ's."**

"_Why not just get girl's shorts?"_

**"Those are too short! I'm not walking around this house in booty shorts, thanks" she laughed off. "Besides, it gets cold at night so I want something with a bit of length to keep the chill off."**

_"I get it. Thanks for the clothes."_ he said with a smile before leaving.

**"Yep."** she replied turning back to her desk.

He was a sight to behold but she kept a straight and serious face as she had a discussion with her boyfriend. The pair were fairly modest around each other and in public; Katie was still a bit shy and Kendall didn't want to spook her, plus he felt uncomfortable himself going any further than hugging and cuddling much of the time. They had been in a relationship for about 2 years now although it wasn't revealed to the public. Since Katie was a huge Rusher before becoming famous, she knew exactly what was going on in fans' minds so she figured they were already making their own assumptions. In time the truth would be revealed but not now.

Katie made Kendall some soup for dinner, nothing special just a store bought can of chicken noodle. She didn't have the time or the means to start simmering broth in time for him to eat at a decent hour. He was already starting to feel much better and more energetic although still a bit weak, light headed and tired. He spent the rest of the evening doing his own things; reading some magazines, playing a few rounds of Mario Kart and watching some TV. Katie spent some time with him, keeping him company as he watched a Lakers game and she did some paper work on her computer. Soon he fell asleep and she shut off all the lights and appliances before returning to her room where she just fooled around playing a game for an hour and then fell asleep herself.

Kendall shook the previous day's events from his mind and hurried to clean up his bathroom before Katie came back upstairs. He put all of his clothes and towels in a laundry basket and went back to bed, his stomach growling. He had eaten already but all he had was one egg and a slice of toast this morning. Because he threw up in the middle of the night, Katie didn't let him eat much even though he was starving. She gave him small amounts of food high in carbs and proteins to keep his strength up but nothing that would over power his sensitive gut as it healed. He hadn't thrown up or felt queasy at all yet today so he was hopeful that maybe by dinner time he could have a sandwich or something a bit heavier.

For lunch he got a small bowl of rice and chicken broth which he downed fairly quickly. He was still hungry and asked for seconds and Katie let him have it. Satisfied, he settled down to watch some TV as he felt his eyes getting heavy. Katie brought the dishes downstairs and cleaned them along with the kitchen as she prepared dinner. It was a fairly quiet afternoon and since there was nothing else to do, Katie decided to catch up on her own sleep before actually cooking dinner. She hopped onto the couch and got comfortable before turning the TV on to Network TV just in time to see an old rerun of the original BTR show. She smiled at the silly jokes they played and soon she fell asleep.

She woke up much later than she thought and found the house completely dark. She was startled for a moment thinking that it was the middle of the night and she slept right through dinner. She scrambled for her phone but she didn't have it, she looked around for a clock but couldn't see it in the dark. She got up, pushing the tangle of blankets off her that she didn't remember having and ran to the entertainment console to see the clock reading 6:37. She slept way too long and didn't think that she was that tired, she went straight up the stairs to check on Kendall to find his room empty; she checked his bathroom, her bedroom and bathroom and all the other rooms upstairs before heading back downstairs heart racing.

She had been calling his name but he didn't answer, making her worry more. She did think for a moment if everything was a dream and that Kendall wasn't sick and maybe he was just working late. Thinking that she might indeed be alone, she turned on all the lights in the house as she reached each area and on her way back down stairs she hit the mid way landing with a thud to look out the window. She saw both her car and Kendall's sitting in the driveway so he had to be here. She ran down the rest of the stairs and swung herself around the banister only to hit something and be sent flying backwards to the ground. She screamed in shock and a bit of pain from hitting whatever she did and landing hard. She looked up to see Kendall staring at her with a concerned look before he got down next to her.

_"Katie! Are you alright!?"_

**"Yeah…I think so, I landed pretty hard but I think I'm fine. I've been looking all over for you!"**

_"I know, I heard you running around upstairs and calling me but before I could respond I heard you coming back down. I though you would have seen me when you turned the corner."_

**"I wasn't expecting you to be there…or to be such a solid object…it felt like running into a brick wall…"she said.**

_"Dancing all day and almost every day tends to do that to you." he laughed as he helped her up off the floor._

"**Seems as though you're feeling better."**

_"I am. Although you could be in better shape. Its obvious that you havent slept much, you slept all afternoon. You've helped me out so now that I'm feeling better, I'm going to return the favor."_ he smiled. He grabbed her hand and lead her to the dinning room where the lights were dimmed and candles were lit. Fresh flowers lined the table and 2 large steak dinners complete with mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and bread sat across from each other between the candles.

**"When did you do all this?!"**

_"While you were asleep of course! I woke up feeling pretty good and I went to your room to see what you were up too and you weren't there. I looked over the loft to see you asleep on the couch. I figured you could use the break after taking care of me and working so hard so I let you sleep and ran to the store to find some fresh steaks to have for a special dinner."_

**"Kendall, you're so sweet to me…"**

_"You deserve it. You are the nicest person I have ever met; your selfless, sincere and gentle. I wish more people could see the good in you like I do but at the same time, I don't want to share you. I want you to be mine, I want to be that one person in life who you can rely on no matter what. We've been through a lot and I've stayed with you through it all, I mean it when I say I love you. I know you have a difficult time expressing your feelings but maybe, if I lead the way and show you that it's safe, you'll follow me. I don't care what it takes, I will never leave you stranded or just forget about you."_

**"I…I love you too Kendall. As hard as it is for me to say that, I cant keep denying it. I think you're the kind of boyfriend every girl dreams of and I'm very lucky to have someone like you in my life. I'm happy when I'm with you; the happiest I've ever been in my life."**

_"I'm glad to hear you say that. I think its time we shout it to the world, what do you think? Let's just bite the bullet so to speak and jump into the frenzy together, hand in hand! We can have more fun and be closer than ever if we weren't so secretive about it. It doesn't matter what others think, all that matters is that we are happy; anyone who says different, doesn't care for us as people."_ Kendall said excitedly. Katie was quiet for a moment, not sure what to say. She looked into his green eyes full of life and although she was scared to make that jump with him, she couldn't help but feel safe with him. _"I'll be there right beside you, every step of the way." he assured her._

**"Alright, I can do this!"** she agreed with a smile.


	19. Chapter 19

With the holidays coming up fairly quick and Summer just about over, there was much work to be done before the stars broke for their breaks. Katie had been in and out of meetings as a head director, writer and producer of her show, to discuss the current standing of the show as a whole. Merchandise was flying off shelves and letters of commending had poured in since the show first took off but the ideas and hardships had all been covered, there was nothing left except maybe to repeat a story but in a new way. Katie didn't want the show to end but there wasn't much to offer.

A few specials, and a movie would be created before sign off but the show was at the end of it's road. Katie had an idea to ask the audience what they might like to see, what is something they deal with that should be covered in the show? She took to twitter to survey her fans and she had many responses, most of which had already been done but with a slightly different twist. After a week of reading responses she found only one new idea and the writers gave it a shot to see what they could come up with. Other than that it was agreed that season 8 was the last run and the wrap party and all the final preps had begun.  
Katie was sad that her show was ending but she wasn't going to leave LA right away, the offers for new shows had already started pouring in once the news started to slowly leak out amongst inside sources. Once it hit the media and the public, no doubt shit would hit the fan and she wasn't sure if she was ready for all of the hate, disappointment and saddened emotions. She'd still make quite a kick back as re-runs played, she appeared in updated promos and network commercials as well as from merchandise, she wasn't going to be suddenly poor; plus she had all of her money saved up to live on. She'd get into a new show but not for a while; instead she'd just stick with BTR Lifestyles and commercials.

Lifestyles had finished up its season a while ago but now it was going to get more intense and cameras would be in their faces almost constantly. Kendall had a few ideas to try and get the new season the big start it needed. The season would finish airing sometime in the summer and the show wouldn't start filming until a few months later. As he pieced together everything, he and Katie had already announced their relationship and congratulations from cast, crew, friends and family had abound! It also came out that they had been dating for about 2 years already and were finally comfortable letting the public know. Of course when Katie's show cancellation would come later, her relationship would be blamed for it but it had nothing to do with it.

After a long day, Katie returned home to find the house empty; she expected Kendall to be there like he always was but he wasn't. Mrs. Knight had yet to return home, in fact she was goin to do some traveling and return home to Minnesota to continue her life before packing up everything and moving to LA. Katie and Kendall were on their own now and she was confident that the two could care for themselves now that it was confirmed they were dating. Katie was a bit scared to be alone, almost starting her own life so far from home. Coming home to an empty and dark house wasn't helping; she wasn't afraid of the dark, she was just afraid of what could be in it. She had grown up in a town that was never safe, always having to watch over her shoulder; when she was in high school her parents finally decided to pack up and leave the family homestead after having 7 murders in the course of 3 months. She made her way to the kitchen, turning on lights as she went and grabbed some water before heading to her room and locking herself inside. Taped to her laptop was a note; she pulled it off carefully and opened it to see Kendall's writing. Her heart skipped a beat as she read the first few lines.

_"Katie,_  
_I hope you find this letter in good time. As you know, I've been very busy the last few days and each day I was away from you hurt a lot but as the saying goes, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' or is it stronger? Hmm, which ever the case, know that I will miss you in the coming days as I and the others have had to take a quick trip across the world to begin some promotional advertising for our album coming out next year. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, this was kind of sprung on me at the last minute. I had only a few days to pack and prepare and with your busy schedule, we just didn't get to see much of each other unfortunately. Our whole trip is being documented for the TV show and I'll be checking in on you when I can. I will be back before the holidays, although I know you will be leaving for home as soon as December rolls around. I hope we cross paths before you leave but if not, I wish you a Merry Christmas and I'll see you next year._  
_Love,_  
_Kendall._  
_P.S. I know the house is going to be quite empty and possibly a bit scary by yourself without my mom there so don't be afraid to ask if you can crash with Camille or Lucy for a few nights each. I'm sure they wont mind."_

She put the letter down and sighed. She was going to be alone for a while a few weeks at least. She didn't want to stay in the house alone at night but it was too late to call someone so she had no choice but to stick it out for the night. It was tough going and she didn't fall asleep for a while, every noise making her heart skip a beat. Despite both celebs love for animals, there wasn't an animal to be had in the large house, making the strange sounds even more daunting. Soon she fell asleep and in the morning she was quite groggy and tired. She grabbed a quick breakfast and some water before heading out the door.

She slept through most of her meeting and although the other executives weren't too pleased, they let it slide having worked her so hard the past few days. She still completed her work on time and actually finished early and she was free to go for the holiday season after only a week. She thanked Camille for letting her stay and went home to pack her things to go home. She wanted to get back home as soon as possible but hated the thought of leaving Kendall to think she was still there. She tried several times to reach him and even tried traveling crew members but still she got nothing. Instead she wrote him a quick note and left it in his room. She shut the house down and locked it up before taking a cab to the airport.

Once she was back home in Connecticut, she grabbed her bags and found her limo driver she had called to pick her up and began her hour long journey home in peace. It was late when she came home so she walked around the house to go through the basement door, where her bedroom was. She turned on the lights and set down her bags in the corner but when she turned around, her bedroom was gone. Instead she was met with stacks of boxes and a new and improved family room. She just stood stunned at the change and looked around the corner for her room but everything was gone, even her mini fridge and microwave in her makeshift kitchen.

She was frustrated and disappointed but was too tired to do anything about it now. She dug a blanket out of one of the boxes and settled in on the couch for the night. The next morning she awoke to her name being called and to being shaken. Her dog Shadow had been staring at the basement door since early this morning and alerted her parents to her arrival. They went down stairs to see her sound asleep on the couch.

"What are you doing down here?" her father asked

"**Last I checked, this used to be my bedroom…doesn't look like it anymore though…Want me out of the house completely now?"**

"No! We moved everything upstairs after moving things around in the other rooms. We had some remodeling done and changed the great room into a master bedroom and gave you the original one upstairs!" Her mom said happily

"We were going to surprise you with it when you were scheduled to come home next week." Her father added

"**Oh. Yeah, I got finished early so I thought I'd come home early, I missed being home. I spent the last week couch surfing with some friends. Mrs. Knight went on a 2 month vacation then decided to stay in Minnesota to resume her life before dropping everything to escort Big Time Rush to LA. It was just me and Kendall for a while; we barely saw each other, one of us was usually in bed by the time the other came home. Plus he left last week to go on a promotional tour in Europe so it got a bit scary to stay in that big house by myself. It'd be one thing if there were some animals but it was just me.**" She explained.

"Well you can stay here as long as you want or need too! Get some breakfast then check out your new room. We put everything in boxes so you'll have to unpack and sort everything on your own; that way you can decided where to put everything and now you have more than enough room." her father said, patting her on the shoulder.

He really didn't like her being on the other side of the country, nor did he like her spending time with so many guys without supervision. He had some tab on her whereabouts when he watched BTR Lifestyles or when her mom showed him some articles in magazines. It kept him occupied but it wasn't exactly what he wanted. He was happy that she was happy and having fun although he was concerned for her safety after hearing about Walter's arrest although only her mom knew the whole story. He helped bring her bags upstairs and then left for work and her mom started drilling her with several questions. Katie didn't want to answer any of them at the moment, what she wanted was to go upstairs to her new room and sleep for a few hours. But her mom had other plans after digging out a magazine article she kept stashed in a file box. It was from a magazine printed a few months ago.

"I havent shown your father this yet, but I thought you should see this first before you start spilling." she said, sliding the magazine to Katie. Katie put her drink down and looked at the article for a second before picking it up and skimming it.

**"Is Kendall Knight dating his costar, Katie Pryszweic? What are their future plans? The duo was spotted grocery shopping together and live in a secluded and gated community outside of LA."** Katie read. She trailed off knowing exactly what her mom wanted to know. She looked up to see her mom with another article that confirmed the two had been dating for a while. "**Ok, Ok, I'm dating Kendall. It's true I'm not going to deny it. I appreciate your concern but I checked him over and tested the waters and I do like him. He's just as sweet as I thought he was; he's patient, gentle, kind and funny. I havent crawled into bed with him if that's what you're thinking or want to know and even if I did, honestly I'm not going to share that. I'm taking things slow enough as it is and it's safe to assume that things are going well. But then again who knows, maybe we only like each other so much because we don't see each other often. We have different schedules and work in 2 different places; but that's what dating is all about, trial and error, what work and what doesn't."**

Katie trailed off and let her mom continue her side of the discussion. Katie took in her moms words of caution and concern; Katie couldn't help but think that after what she said her self and her mom's words that maybe there was another reason why the relationship was working out so well. What if it was because they didn't spend all their time together. They didn't get a chance to get sick of each other or see each other at their worst. What if? She was totally bummed out now and full of thought about her seemingly stable relationship. She sat in bed for a while before she took a quick nap and woke up refreshed but still down at the entire conversation. She started unpacking and organizing her things to try and keep her mind off it. After spending a few hours cleaning, her phone started ringing so she took a much deserved break to answer it and didn't bother to look at the number.

"**Hello?"**

_"Katie!"_

"**Hi, Kendall."**

"_Don't sound so enthusiastic!"_ he laughed off.

**"Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind."**

_"is that why you rushed home?"_

**"How did you know?"**

_"Paparazzi caught you getting on a plane in a hurry. I was just calling in to see if everything was alright."_

**"Yeah, everything's fine I had finished my work early and was free to go so I packed up and went home early. I was really looking forward to it. I left you a note in your room explaining this."**

_"Oh ok, I'm still in Europe right now actually; I'll be here for another week. Tell me something, you don't sound like yourself, what's up and don't tell me you're tired because I can tell the difference."_

**"Well I had a discussion with my mom this morning; she showed me some articles that rumored and then confirmed us dating so she started asking all kinds of questions and…"**

_"And…? And what? You can tell me."_

**"I'm just…confused I guess you could say. I don't want to say second guessing this relationship, I'm just very, very confused and I don't know what to do or where to even begin."** she said trying to hold back the tears. Kendall just stayed quiet, not sure what to say but also wanting to give her the chance to keep going. **"In your letter, you said yourself that absence makes the heart grow stronger. What if that's true with us but on a different level? We don't spend that much time together, we havent seen each other at our worst, we've never argued, we havent gotten sick of each other yet."**

_"That's because we get along so well."_

**"But that's the point! What couple gets along this well? What relationship never has any turmoil?! How can we be so happy all the time when we never see each other? It doesn't add up; think about it, how many times have you and Logan, James and Carlos gotten into an argument?"**

_"We fight all the time; but we're still friends!"_

**"We don't fight because we're never in each others way. We can keep this charade up only until our careers end and then what are we supposed to do? How are we going to know if we can keep going with each other? I need some time to think this over; I don't want to keep going on the phone so just get your work done and get back home as soon as you can, safely. I'll talk to you soon."** she said before hanging up. She set the phone down on the table and couldn't help but let the tears start to fall down her cheeks after holding them in for so long. She put her head in her hands and just cried for several minutes, her dog Shadow coming to comfort her, sensing her sadness.

Kendall still had his phone in his hand, stunned at her words. He tried to stop her from hanging up or at least say goodbye but the dial tone cut him off. He had no idea what to do and couldn't feel anything emotionally, not that he even knew what to feel that is. He was alone in his hotel room and wanted some time to himself to think about what just happened but his staff had other ideas. Kendall had to get ready for an interview that he was no longer emotionally prepared for; he couldn't think straight, his mind was a blur. He was distant towards his band mates and staff which was totally unlike him and they began to wonder what was going on.

Kendall went on stage to do his thing and although he felt like utter crap as his heart was breaking in two, he managed to pull himself together long enough to answer some questions and pretend like everything was ok. After some laughs and jokes their segment ended and they all returned to their dressing room where his band mates started interrogating him.

_"Guys! I appreciate your concern, but I just want to be left alone for a little while, ok?_" he said grabbing his coat. He started for the door when Logan piped up.

"Whenever your ready to talk or something, we're all here for you." he said sincerely. Kendall had his hand on the door knob and he bowed his head as he sighed.

_"Yeah…I know…"_ he sighed. He opened the door and let it somewhat slam behind him as he left for the van. It wasn't ready so he just walked to the hotel which was a few blocks away. He put on a hat and sunglasses as well as his heavy trench coat since it was windy and rainy. It hid him well and no one would be able to recognize him as he made his way back to his hotel room in one piece. Once he was alone in the quiet room he was overcome by sheer sadness as he sank on the bed in tears.


	20. Chapter 20

After venting for about an hour, Kendall was much calmer although nowhere near as happy and chipper like he was. He was distraught to say the least, frustrated at not knowing the answers to his many questions; what was going on? Why did Katie all of a sudden question things? Was she hurt? Scared? Threatened? He knew her mom talked to her but he didn't think that she had anything to do with this; she wouldn't have interfered with Katie's love life would she? There had to be some sort of reason and Kendall didn't want to jump to any conclusions before getting to the bottom of things. He had another week in Europe and he wasn't going anywhere until everything was taken care of so he settled down and got to work, covering up his pain as he laughed and joked with his band mates for the camera.

Needless to say, everyone was concerned for Kendall but he seemed to be getting over whatever was bothering him and he still didn't want to talk about it so they just left him alone. He was feeling more at ease as the days past and thought about less; he started to wonder since this wasn't bothering him as much as it was, then maybe Katie was on to something. But something still seemed a bit off although he couldn't quite put his finger on it. After the week passed it was time to go home; he had a nice flight back to LA where everyone went their separate ways for the holidays.

Kendall went back to his empty house, his movements echoed in the silence. He dropped his things in the living room before heading upstairs to his room. He walked past Katie's room before backing up and staring at the closed door. He opened it to see the room still lived in, so she'd be coming back at least. He really didn't want to think to much about anything right now, he just wanted to put the whole thing behind him and sleep for eternity.

He woke up the next morning oddly refreshed and felt normal, he knew Katie had gone home but he didn't remember anything else. By lunch time however everything started to race back to him and he ended up wallowing in his own depression for the rest of the afternoon, unsure of what to do with himself. It had been days since he talked to anyone or even ventured outside, he just lay on his living room couch mindlessly watching episode after episode of Katie's show, The Other Side of High School. It wasn't registering what he was seeing or doing his mind was empty and his gaze almost lifeless.

Finally after not replying to texts or calls from anyone, Camille, Logan and Tyler made their way to Kendall's house. Kendall didn't answer but they could see the TV on. Tyler picked the lock on the back door and the others followed to find Kendall in an almost dead like trance. Tyler shut off the TV and Logan checked for a pulse on a sleeping Kendall. He was alive but from the looks of the living room, he hadn't moved in days unless he had to use the bathroom. Food, drinks, and garbage surrounded the couch, covered him and was spread all about the first floor.

"Do you think maybe he's depressed that he didn't get to see Katie before she left and now he misses her?" Tyler guessed

"I think it's more than that. He's been in an odd mood since halfway through our promotional tour in Europe. Something was going on and he never spilled the beans but it probably does have something to do with the two of them." Logan surmised

"Maybe they broke up?" Tyler suggested.

Camille and Logan looked at each other then to Tyler before finally resting their gaze on Kendall with a look of sympathy. They couldn't be sure and as much as they wanted to know, they also didn't want to pry. They left Kendall to sleep and snuck back out the back door and would be back to check on him later to make sure he was doing alright.

Kendall was finally forced off the couch by James after another few days and with the help of Logan and Carlos, Kendall had a night out with his band mates to try and get some spark in his life. Kendall told them what had happened and he just wasn't sure about his feelings. He was sad but he was also frustrated and disappointed. He had so many questions and no way to get them answered. He was so focused on himself that he didn't even think about how Katie must have felt to even come to this conclusion. She seemed so calm and open now after getting used to her new life and learning to trust people and now all of a sudden she was scared again, shutting down all her outlets to avoid the pain.

Katie had come so far that it hurt him to see her bottle herself up in fear. He wanted to know why she was so scared, what set her off and can he change her mind? He really did lover her and although he could see her point about them never fighting or getting a chance to get sick of each other, he just didn't think it was possible. He didn't want to move on without her; he wanted her by his side forever and he hoped she felt the same way somewhere inside her heart. Katie was unreachable at the moment and with the holidays right around the corner, it was almost positive that she'd be busy for the next few weeks.

Back in Connecticut, Katie was a complete mess. She wasn't focused or cheery like she usually was; she spent a lot of time in her office alone, only working when she had to. She wasn't in a bad mood per say but it was in everyone's best interest to stay out of her way and not ask questions. Her mind was everywhere but on what she was doing, paper work was messed up or missing, accidents were waiting to happen both in and out of the classroom and kennel. Liam tried to pry but she pushed him away gently, showing her displeasure to talk about it and he obliged hoping she would come around soon. Truth I she was devastated at the choice she made. She loved Kendall, or at least she thought she did; she had no idea what love felt like. She never loved anyone outside of her family and even then sometimes her feelings and emotions were backwards. She didn't like being without Kendall but was she just attached to him and his kindness or did she actually and truly love him?

Either way he didn't deserve her broad and vague responses and she was hurting inside at the pain he might be suffering. She knew what it felt like to be hated, ignored and unloved so why would she ever want to inflict that kind of pain onto someone else? She felt worse as the days went on and tried to ignore it all in hopes it would go away and die out. Her phone was over loaded with unread text messages and missed phone calls from almost everyone, except Kendall. After their discussion a week ago she had heard nothing from him.

**"Well, at least now we know how a fight would turn out…"** she sighed as she sat in her office staring at her phone in her hands.

Christmas came and went without so much as a peep. Her office and the academy was decorated brightly but at home there was no sign of Christmas; not a single bell or strand of light nor garland graced the empty walls. Christmas was skipped out of both punishment and lack of funds. Her parents were unable to afford gifts and her father refused to celebrate Christmas anymore after Katie had missed it last year. She spent much of her vacation at home, alone in her room doing random things to try and pass the time. She started to feel better about the whole situation although guilt and sadness still sifted through now and again.

She'd soon be back in LA and it'd be awkward to walk up to the once friendly atmosphere. She had promised to talk to Kendall more but since he hadn't even tried to contact her, she left it at that and never called him back. She desperately wanted to explain herself and just to talk to him but she was too scared. She blew the one and only chance she had at maybe finally finding the happiness in her life she so desperately needed. Not only that but she could feel her parents disappointment in her from her seemingly 'wild' actions; she couldn't help but still be almost brainwashed by her parents. Whatever tie she had formed with them, wasn't about to break very easily, no amount of outside love and force would be able to break her free but she wasn't sure if she wanted too.

She told a few people about her desperate attachment to her parents but it was only because she knew nothing else. Those were the only two people who ever showed her any kind of love, attention and acknowledgement that she needed and wanted. She could never turn her back on them nor would she want it done to her; but at the same time, somehow her parents could sense her attachment and she felt they used it to their advantage. At one point she thought maybe they did this for her own good, to try and break the tie so she could function on her own, as she would have to eventually someday but she just wouldn't or couldn't budge. Having no one else to love and no one to love her, she couldn't face reality; instead she suffered in silence as the pain built up only to have it collapse when she was so close.

Kendall was feeling less down and although still heartbroken he was more upbeat. Without a 2nd thought he packed his bags and got on the next flight to Connecticut to try and find Katie. He wanted to get things settled now and in person; no more waiting around and thinking. He had a vague idea where he was going but he couldn't be sure but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. Once he landed in the terminal he tried to hide himself as best he could although Connecticut was a fairly quiet state, there wasn't much to do and it was overall very private. He wasn't willing to take the chance and just stayed low as he grabbed his bags and picked up his rental car. He looked up the Academy's address and punched it into the GPS and he was off. After an hour he arrived at the front gate; a new guard was inside a shack in the process of being remolded. He pulled up to the window to talk with the guard.

_"Hi, I'm here to see Katie Pryszweic."_ he said.

"I'll need to see an ID."

"_Sure, I don't attend school here so I assume my license is ok?_" Kendall asked pulling out his wallet.

"Fine." he replied taking the card from Kendall. "I'll be right back." after about a minute the guard came back with a pass and the license. "Here you are, sir. Do you know where you are headed?"

"_Uh, it's been a while so a refresher might help."_

"Alright then. I cant tell you exactly where she is but just head down the main road here until you reach a second gate. Scan your visitor's pass and follow the path that opens up. It'll take you right to the main building after a few turns and stop signs." the guard instructed.

_"Thanks."_ Kendall replied

"No problem, have a great day." the guard said.

"_You too."_ he smiled as he drove through the opened gate. The main building was big as life and although school was still closed for another week, it seemed pretty active. This time the building was open for business and he walked right in. Sandy was sitting at the desk and smiled at his presence.

"Well, well, long time no see! How have you been Kendall?" she smiled getting up to give him a hug

"_I've been alright I guess. How about you?"_ he replied

"Fine, fine. Let me check out the schedule for you to see where Katie is. I'm not sure if she's working today." she said as she sat back down and took out a binder. She flipped through the pages and sifted through the schedule. "hmm, her schedule says 'various'. She might be on call today and working from home or have something else to do and she's not even home or even something else. Sorry I cant tell you anymore; she's been pretty secretive lately."

_"Oh, I see. That's ok. Is Liam around?"_

"Yes, he's in the main Kennel building caring for some extra animals. We had a huge blizzard here last week and it was pretty tough on thousands of people throughout the state. Don't play or pet any of the animals in building, they arent ours and it's a huge liability."

_"Sure. Thanks, Sandy._"

"No problem, Kendall." she waved as he left. Kendall found the kennel pretty quickly, it wasn't far from the main building and the dogs were outside and barking on occasion so it was hard to miss. He walked in and called for Liam and he peeked his head around the corner in response.

"Hey, Kendall!" Liam smiled. He waved quickly before wiping his hands and greeting Kendall with a handshake. "Nice to see you man, how have you been?"

_"Pretty good I guess, you?"_

"I've been alright. Been working hard though, Katie's been a bit out of sorts since she got back last month. I thought maybe she was sick."

_"That's what I'm here for. She was acting fine before she left but then I had to go on a sudden promo tour in Europe. She wasn't supposed to leave until I got back but she finished work early so she left early. Halfway through my tour I get this call from her and she's just not making any sense. Before I can get any info, she hangs up on me and wont answer. I don't know whats going on or who put what kind of ideas in her head but that's what I'm here to find out. I was hoping you could tell me where she lives?"_

'Sure, but that's not going to do you any good; she's on call today and was sent out on Rescue, Pick-ups and Transport. She'll be back around 5 or so to check in and call it a day."

_"Do you know where she is?"_

"Nope, the calls she gets come straight from police and other local, state and federal agencies. ACS has no part in the calls except when responding. She might not even be in Connecticut."

_"I see. Well, give me her address anyway, I want to see where she lives and maybe meet her parents. I have a surprise for her anyway so I can leave it at the door."_

"Her parents arent home, plus her dogs are home. Not a good idea to trespass when she's not around, those dogs can be unpredictable when she's not around. Go get some lunch or something; if you want you can get settled in a dorm room too if you'd like."

_"That sounds good, I could use a quick nap."_

"I have to finish up here, I'm already behind schedule but Sandy has the extra dorm keys. I would think you're contract is still viable from last time you stayed so you shouldn't have to sign anything."

_"Great, thanks, Liam."_

"No problem."

Kendall left and talked with Sandy who gave him his key and Kendall went to his dorm room to unpack. The room was a bit stuffy from being closed for so long but it was clean. He cracked a window for some fresh air and tossed his bags into the corner to deal with later before crawling into bed for a quick and much needed nap.


	21. Chapter 21

It was only just after noon when Kendall woke up; he didn't sleep as long as he wanted to but it was enough. He toured the facility for a little bit before encountering unfamiliar territory and lots of construction. He decided it was best if he headed back to find something else to do while he waited. He went back to his room to surf his computer for places to eat or things to do but he didn't come up with much; he got sidetracked with Twitter, Facebook and Youtube for a while before calling it quits.

"Well at least I wasted an hour." he sighed. He was hungry though so he needed to find something to eat. The cafeteria on campus was closed so he decided to go to the local Subway down the street. He got up to grab his jacket before noticing a piece of paper on the floor. It was a note from Liam, he had slipped it under the door thinking Kendall was still asleep.

"Kendall,   
Sorry I didn't tell you before but I was a bit embarrassed; Katie moved a few years ago. It was a way for her to start a new life apparently; you know as well as I do that she had gone through a lot of stuff over the years. I don't know her current address, in fact most people don't. That's what makes it embarrassing; her best friends don't know where she lives. I've tried looking up her address several times but I've had no luck, maybe you might find something else. I'm sure her address is written on some document in this facility but it'd take weeks to find it, if it's not locked into her office. It's probably for the best, she wanted a new life long before she became famous so getting a new house in a new town is what she needed to get away from all the stress. Not aonly that but now that she is famous, plus the events that had happened a few years back, I can understand why she would live elsewhere and not tell anyone. Anyway, I have other work to do so I wont be around much today like I thought I was. Hope you find something to do with your time!  
Liam"

Kendall put the note in his pocket and left his room to head to the main building. It was quiet since everyone was at lunch but the building was open. Some noise was coming from the adjacent kennel and in one of the arenas so he made a quick dash down the hall as silently as possible. Cameras were every where but he wasn't too worried and he began to get to work. He had a few tools and started working on Katie's lock; he was fairly good at picking them and in a few minutes he was in. He checked the hall one last time before sliding inside and shutting the door behind him.

He sighed once he was inside and turned on the lights so he could see something. Her office was pretty neat and organized much to his surprise. Her desk in LA was in such disorder everyone was surprised at how well she functioned and met her deadlines. He began opening up drawers and files to look for any titles or areas that might pertain to information on her. All of her personal items kept listing a PO box rather than a physical address and Kendall soon became a bit frustrated at his progress. He was hopeful once again when he found a file cabinet in the back of her closet that listed all students and staff at the facility including information on each person. Her file had her old address and hadn't been updated yet, except for the same PO Box number he had been running across the whole time. Kendall started putting everything away but when he shut the drawer of the file cabinet, a folder on top was pushed off. He picked it up and opened it partly to put back a pamphlet that had slightly fallen out. He did a double take to read something familiar.

_"Platinum Springs Luxury Homes in Bethel…"_ he read. He started looking through the folder and saw all kinds of information on luxury homes built in a type of free range community. There were several of these communities across the state but the town of Bethel kept coming up. Kendall remembered seeing the insignia of the community on his way one town over in Middlebury. He looked up the town of Bethel and soon found an address of the building site just 10 minutes away from the Academy. He hopped in his care and followed his GPS's instructions, getting lost once due to the low signal quality out on the well inhabited country roads.

He finally saw the familiar logo and saw just an open area of newly dug up trees and ground. Site building hadn't begun yet from what he could tell. He was confused, the pamphlets were dated a few years back at least so he thought this was wear she was inhabiting but maybe he was wrong. He pulled into the dirt driveway to turn around when he saw a trailer sitting behind a clump of trees. He rolled forward a bit to see a bright red sign with Platinum Spring's logo on it; below it, it said "Sales Office." With nowhere else to go he took a chance and pulled in to the parking lot. He was greeted by a tall red head when he walked inside the fancy cabin of the trailer.

"Hello there! Welcome to Platinum Springs at Bethel. My name is Regina Farlan, how may I help you today?"

_"Hi, I'm actually totally lost and confused. I've been trying to find my girlfriend and no one seems to no where she lives."_

""Well that sounds strange."

_"I know, I sound like a stalker…but I'm not!"_ Kendall quickly said to defend himself once he heard what he was saying. "_She used to live with me for a few months out of the year when we both had work to do in LA and when she wasn't busy she'd come back here to CT. I wasn't aware that she moved though, apparently she did it in secret, which makes sense; it's a long story. Anyway, I came here because I saw flyers for this community thing and they looked old so I thought maybe this was where she was but it seems you havent started building yet…"_

"Oh but we have. These sites out front our the last sites to be built on. We started building at the back since we had an odd shaped layout. We wanted to be sure we had enough room and that all of our home sites would be generous in space. I probably shouldn't give you directions since this whole story sounds just way too weird but I don't want to get involved in whatever it is going on. Just follow the driveway back out and follow it through the construction zone; they'll stop as you pass. Then follow the road into the mountain side and you'll see the homes. About 20 have been built so far and 35 more are in the works." she explained.

Kendall thanked her and left in a hurry, leaving Regina to breathe a sigh of relief but also confused. He followed her directions and found the homes fairly quickly, out of the 20 homes built, only 9 were lived in thus far, the others were on the last finishing touches or hadn't been sold yet. Kendall drove by each house slowly, looking for anything that might give it away that Katie lived there. He saw all kinds of dogs but none that looked familiar.

He pulled over and thought for a moment before pretending to look at some paper to avoid looking like a weirdo. He thought and looked at the houses and tried to figure out what to do; inevitably though, he decided to just bite the bullet and knock on a door and see who answers. With any luck, even if he gets the house wrong, he can ask the inhabitants if they know Katie. He looked for a house that looked inhabited and then one that had a car in the driveway. The first house he received no answer, the second house, a nurse answered the door. She was caring for an elderly gentleman who had many physical and mental problems in his growing age. She was a temporary aid to the man and didn't know anyone in the neighborhood. Finally at the third house he received some answers.

He knocked on the door and looked at his phone and then at the scenery as he waited for the door to open. He expected someone calm, cool and collected but instead he was greeted by screams of joy. He jumped back and lost his balance at the screams as he tried to gain his senses. He almost had his balance but he was tackled to the ground by a young brown haired girl who was now in tears.

"Oh my god! Kendall Knight is at my house! Ahhh!" she screamed fanning herself. Kendall just looked at her with a look of fear and shock; this was not what he was expecting at all.

_"Uh…hi?"_ he mustered trying to think. His mind was full of thoughts about Katie and from being frustrated with getting lost that he wasn't thinking clearly. Once he realized this was a fan, he tried to be as nice as possible although he was quite uncomfortable with this young girl straddling him.

"Oh Em Gee! This is like SO unbelievable! I KNEW you would come visit me; I could see it in your eyes when I saw you in concert 5 months ago. You kept staring me in the eyes and I knew we weren't meant to be and, like, it's totally undeniable since you're, like, HERE! OMG OMG! AHHH!" The girl stammered. "So like, I know we didn't get to talk much, if at all when I met you but my name is Heather. Just in case you forgot, although you shouldn't have because you are obviously in love with me." She continued, matter of factly. She got off Kendall, who was subtly trying to get up, and as soon as he was on his feet, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside and shut the door behind them.

_"Uh…Heather? I think you might have misunderstood; I'm trying to find my girlfriend-"_

"Duh! I'm right here. I didn't think you'd actually be so pushy as to giving titles already but I gladly accept!"

_"No, I mean-"_

"I'M your girlfriend." she said loudly.

Kendall hushed up, a bit scared at being alone with an apparent psycho fan. This wasn't the first time he had a run in with these types of die hard fans but it was the first time that he was alone with one with no kind of protection. He usually had a body guard or even a band mate but this time he felt outnumbered although she was the only one. Heather dragged him to the den and pushed him onto the sofa. He tried to get up but Heather jumped on top of him, lust in her eyes.

"Since you want me so bad, I'll let you just have me. You wont have to work at all." she said slyly. Kendall's eyes widened and he tried to get away or push her off but despite her small frame she was surprisingly strong. " Playing hard to get huh? I like that. Maybe if I keep pushing and being greedy you might want to spank me…" she continued. Kendall was still freaked out but he had enough. He mustered all the strength he had and pushed her off him onto the floor and he got up.

_"Enough Heather! I don't want to do this and neither should you! What the hell is wrong with you?"_

"Me?! You're the one who looked at me!"

_"Yeah, that's all I did was make eye contact, I do that with all my fans. You're the only one who blew it out of proportion and started acting as the easy slut; You're just a child!"_

"What?! How DARE you! I'm not a slut and I'm certainly not a child!"

_"How old are you?"_

"13 and a half thank you very much!"

_"13 year olds shouldn't be trying to sleep with someone; they shouldn't even know about that stuff! Don't you have any respect for yourself?_ "

"I'm an adult and I can do what I want!"

_"13 is not an adult. You're still a child and need to listen to your parents. You have no idea what you are doing or getting yourself into; what you were about to do was illegal and would have landed me in prison. So don't begin to tell me that you're prepared for everything life can throw at you. You want to grow up so fast and in turn you're going to miss everything that childhood has to offer. Sleeping with men isn't going to get you anywhere in life, no one wants to be with someone easy; someone who has no respect for herself."_ He lectured. Heather was letting it sink in but she didn't show any remorse. _"Think about what you want in life and how you are going to get there. Don't cheapen yourself when you have your whole life ahead of you."_ He turned to leave and was just about out the door of Heather's den before she spoke up.

"Kendall, wait." she sighed. "I'm sorry, really I am. I thought maybe for once someone would look at me and like me for what I am. A lot of my friends or more mature than me so the guys I like don't look at me the way they do my friends. In any case, this isn't stuff you want to hear no doubt; sounds like it's straight from a crappy sitcom from the 90's. But I was hoping that maybe we could at least hang out for a few minutes? You know a hug, a round of Mario Kart and some pictures? I promise to help you find your girlfriend afterwards; I'll tell you whatever you want or need to know!"

Kendall stopped and thought for a moment; he thought about what to say and what to do as well as if her words were genuine. Would she really help him afterwards? What about even just hanging out with her? It seemed like there wouldn't be any harm in it but after what she did it kinda seemed like a reward. But then again, he understood what she might be feeling, being ostracized for her looks; Katie went through the same thing for so many years, even after she had an image change. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Heather and decided that he would stay for a little bit. A few pictures and 1 round of Mario Kart wouldn't be the end f the world.

_"Fine. 1 hug, 1 round of Mario Kart and 2 pictures."_ he said flatly. Heather smiled and took her hug right away running into his arms. When she backed away she had a few tears trying to escape her eyes but she wiped them away before moving on to Mario Kart. Kendall picked the longest course possible and switched the requirements to 5 laps instead of 3 to make it last a little longer. Once it was all set they began playing and laughing along the way.

Katie was on the highway coming back from several meetings upstate. She was going to take a quick trip home right after she picked up a neighbor's dog to kennel at her facility while the family left for Vacation tomorrow morning. Luckily enough she lived in the same area, in fact she was about a block down from the client's house; she used to baby sit the client's two daughters when they were just kids. She pulled up to her neighbor's house to find only an unfamiliar car out front. The neighborhood was fairly active so there were numerous cars coming in and out all the time; she just figured they had company. She slid on her vest and hat to identify herself and walked up the path.

She knocked on the door and several seconds passed by without so much as a whisper. She checked her watch to be sure it was the right time. According to the work order, anytime after 3pm was great and it was now 4:15. She tried again and this time after another minute the door opened slowly. Katie was flipping through her paperwork and when she looked up she was greeted by nothing, just an open door. She moved her binder and looked down to see the youngest daughter, Melissa at the door; a big smile on her face.

"Katie!" she said happily, giving her legs a hug.

"**Hey, Melissa! How are you?"**

"Good."

**"Where's Mommy?"**

"She's not home."

**"What about Daddy?"**

"He's not here either. He said they were doing finally stuff for Disney world!" she said bright eyed. Melissa was only 3 years old but she could speak clearly and use almost complete sentences with proper verbage.

"**Are you here by yourself?"**

"No, Heather is here."

"**Where is Nadine?"** Katie asked curiously. Nadine was the eldest sister at 16; she was a bit rude and aloof but usually she was a big homebody.

"She left. She says Heather is in charge."

"**Oh boy."** Katie sighed. Heather was the rudest girl on the block, she was obnoxious and pushy. She had no respect for people or their things and was probably the town whore. Katie couldn't really understand how the two girls got so bad, the oldest children, twin boys were perfect gentlemen and the parents themselves were nice, welcoming and kind. The twins were a year older than Katie and moved out of the house shortly after Katie moved into the neighborhood, they were good friends though and the twins would stop by to chat when they weren't busy. "**I think I need to have a talk with her; and Nadine next time I see her. She cant keep leaving you alone like this."**

"Why not? I can take care of myself!"

**"Can you reach the faucet in the bathroom without your block?"**

"No."

"**Then you arent ready just yet!"** Katie chuckled.

"Aww…" Melissa sighed.

**"One day, Mel. Why don't you tell me where Heather is?**"

"She told me not to bother her. She said she was tired and was going to take a nap with the boy who was at the door cause he was tired too."

"**…I see…"** Katie said slowly trying to hide her shock. Katie knew exactly what was going on and didn't want to let on that something was different or not right. She was going to preserve Melissa's innocence as long as she could. "**Where?"**

"I don't know, I think they went to the den but there's no bed in there!"

**"Ok. Let me go see if she's awake, but you have to stay here alright? Don't move no matter what, not until I get back!"**

"How come?"

**"Oh, uh, because I have a very important job for you. See my truck over there?"**

"Yea"

**"I need you to keep an eye on it and make sure the doggies don't get out. But don't go outside, no one can watch you. Just watch from the window and I will be right back."**

"Ok!" Melissa agreed. She saluted Katie and ran to the window to begin watching Katie's truck. Katie went through the house to the den to get to the bottom of everything and give Heather a piece of her mind.


	22. Chapter 22

_***AN* So, I took a short break from writing this story, I've spent about a month on it before uploading all the chapters I had. I finally had an epiphany of sorts as I started brainstorming different ideas. I believe I know exactly which direction I want to go into now and it should only take 1 or 2 decent sized chapters but we'll see. I still need some time to think about the detail so this story wont be finished until probably just before or just after the new year. **_

_**Also on a side note, now that I know the story's direction I may in fact change the title to fit it. I've been having trouble coming up with titles lately so I usually just put the first thing that comes to mind since I cant start the story uploads without it. When I change the title I'll let everyone know in an AN of the next chapter but if I change the title after the story has finished then just pay attention to my profile which I have turned into a kind of blog. Right now I dont have an up-to-date blog or twitter that I am willing to link to this website. All of my updates are labeled with a date and will be deleted after a few months or by the time I update again depending on how much time has passed. **_

_**I have a few ideas for BTR related stories still brewing in my head and on a note pad however the ideas have been few and far between due to the fact that I am burned out and just a bit down in the dumps. I kind of lost the urge to write because my stories come out better than my own life and its a bit of a let down... I'll continue writing for the time being and I'm not going to flat out quit writing, I'm just going to take more breaks or write different stories such as regular fiction or a different show. After this story is completed I will be continuing with my newest yet to be named series following Kendall and my OC, Katie. I also might try my hand at writing a song fic. I'm not sure if I got the concept but I'm going to give it a go and see where it goes. This might be my last update for a week or so, in that respect I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! ***_

Kendall had beat Heather in the round of Mario Kart and it was onto the pictures. They took a regular one side by side before she pushed him on the couch and jumped into his lap and gave him a kiss on the cheek, snapping the pic before he could say anything. He wasn't thrilled and showed his disdain after the picture was done but she wouldn't get up. Instead she held him close and down keeping him on the couch. He was having it and pushed her off him and onto the floor, where he was on top instead. She wrapped her legs around his torso to keep hold of him. Kendall was about to break free when the den door flew open after someone pounded on it.

**"Heather!"** a voice called. The door opened and Katie burst inside. She stopped in her tracks at the sight in front of her. Kendall and Heather both looked up to her in shock and Katie could only stare back in surprise.

"Katie!" they both called out together. They looked at each other, confused as to how the other knew Katie.

**"What the hell is going on in here?!**" Katie asked. Kendall looked down to Heather and pushed off her.

"_Wait, I can explain!" _Kendall shouted trying to get up

**"Get up Heather, now."** she ordered. Heather did as she was told, surprisingly enough. "**Get your coat and Cocoa and get in the truck. I don't want to hear any excuses, just go**." Heather left without a word and Kendall was left confused and scared. "**Well?"** she finally said after staring at him for a while. He looked back at her with a blank stare. "**You said you were going to explain." **

_"Oh! Uh, yeah. Hmm…I was looking for you and no one could tell me where you were since they had no idea where you lived. I broke into your office and looked through all the files but I couldn't find anything until I went into your closet. I found all kinds of flyers on this place so I started looking around by knocking on doors and trying my luck that maybe someone knew you. When I knocked on the door to this house, that crazy fanatic attacked me and tried to make a move on me. I pushed her off and told her no but nothing happened I swear!"_

**"I see. So let's see, you broke into my office, invaded my privacy, stalked me, then got taken advantage of an underage girl who you had no power over?"**

_"Yes! …Wait…when you put it that way it sounds bad…" he sighed. "That girl came on to me! I pushed her away several times and tried to walk out but then she told me this sob story and I felt sorry for her so I stayed with her for a little bit and played a game with her then took a few pictures. When you walked in she had just jumped into my lap and kissed me; but I didn't want her to, nor did I know that she was going to do that, I swear! Katie you have to believe me! I came all the way out here to find you and to get some answers. I want to know why all of a sudden you were so distant to me and why you were taking so many steps backwards. I love you and want to do everything I can to make you believe me and trust me!"_

**"I just saw you with another girl!"**

_"But I told you I didn't do anything! She's 13 years old, I'm not a pedophile! I love you and only you; please… can we talk?"_

**"I have work to do right now and I'm running behind schedule now. I'm taking the girls to the Academy and I'll meet you there in about an hour right after I finish my run."** she said before turning to leave without another word or waiting for a response.

"_Ok."_ he said after her.

He stood for a moment before grabbing his phone and following everyone out the door. He walked to his car and drove off, leaving Katie to argue with Heather. Katie wrote a note to the girls parents about the situation in case they would be home before Katie got back. Heather reluctantly got into the car with Melissa and Katie loaded the family's Maltese into the empty cage in the back. Once the group was ready she drove off towards the Academy, stopping at a house then to the animal shelter along the way. She pulled into the garage and parked her truck; letting the girl's out once she got out herself. She grabbed the two remaining dogs in the rear, her dog Shadow and the girls' dog Cocoa and lead them inside. Cocoa was handed off to a staff member who was waiting for her and left to put her away. Katie led the girls to the lounge where they could watch TV and then she went to her office to find Kendall sitting on the floor in a slump outside her door. He got up to greet her but she stopped him.

**"Wait until were inside."** she said unlocking the door. He followed her inside and got out of her way as she shut the door after him. He took a seat in front of her desk and waited for her to get settled. Shadow went outside to his pen to run around for a bit after being cooped up in the car for so long. "**Alright, now we can talk. It's just a matter of where to begin."**

_"I'm going to start with defending myself about the events that happened this afternoon."_

**"Save it. Heather already told me your innocent. Well except for calling her the town whore."**

"_What?! I didn't call her that!"_

**"She said those weren't your exact words but that's what you meant. I'm not mad about that because its probably true to be honest. Her older sister is the bigger whore though, that's where she gets it from. Nadine is so irresponsible, that's why Heather is so pushy and tries to be adult, because Nadine gets to do it and Heather is trying to prove herself older when she really has no idea what she's doing."**

_"I got that much."_

**"In any case, enough about them; I assume since you came all this way you wanted to talk about us. So let's talk."**

_"I just want to know why you suddenly had a change of heart. You were making such progress and things were going so well between us, or at least I thought."_

"**Do you remember that conversation we had about 2-3 years ago? It was the night we first decided to try out this relationship thing."**

_"Uh…"_ Kendall started as he thought about it for a second. "_Yes, I do. It was the night you told me everything on your mind. But I didn't decide to be with you just because I felt sorry for you, or that I knew that you liked me. I wanted to be with you because I actually liked you; you're sweet, caring, gentle, smart and beautiful!"_

"**That's what you think now. What about when we first met?"**

_"I don't know if I remember much of that."_

**"Exactly. I didn't stand out in the crowd. I'm not expecting to be told that it was love at first sight, I don't think that actually exists, however it took a while for you to get to know me."**

_"I suppose. I mean we rarely spent any time together or ran into each other, even after we started sharing a sound stage."_

"**What is our relationship founded on then? Is it just for publicity?"**

"_Of course not! I didn't tell anyone we were dating until you felt it was safe to do so."_

**"I really don't know where I'm going with this…I'm just having a hell of a time trying to get all my thoughts and feelings together. I'm just….so broken inside; I mean, I tried to be normal and be open but its too much for me, I cant do it. I cant bear the thought that I'm being lied too, even after all this time. We've never fought, we're always apart; what's to say that if we spent the rest of our lives together that we could handle what life has to throw at us?"**

"_You have a point but I'm not just going to give up on us so easily. I've never had a girlfriend; yes I've ogled some girls in the past but none of them I have ever had a shot with, not only that, they've had awful personalities. If someone is going to care so much for their appearance that they have no time for anything else, that's not a girl for me. I want someone who can laugh and joke around without a care, someone who has a gentle heart. I want you. I don't care if we fight, I don't care if we got sick of each other; we'd make this work no matter what. I need you to believe that and trust me; I know it's hard but I'll always be there for you." Kendall said. "I know it's cliché and everything but remember that you're not going to be invisible and that you will always have my heart." He stared into her eyes that started to well up with tears._

He just pulled her into a hug and let her sob heavily into his shirt. Outside Liam was listening in and he felt emotional pain in his heart from listening. He had a good deal of knowledge about Katie's past but nothing to this level. He was hurt that she couldn't tell him but at the same time he understood; he felt that Kendall was a good match for his best friend and was content that she'd overcome all of her troubles and pain with him by her side. He let the duo have a private moment and he slipped away quietly to avoid getting caught. The couple spent some time together alone just talking before it was time to go home. Kendall wandered back to his dorm after watching Katie take Heather and Melissa to her car and driving off to their house. He still didn't know where she lived but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve to find out. With the weekend coming up, he wasn't sure if Katie was going to be busy or not. He did a lot of thinking before slowly drifting to sleep.

Right after the new year it was time to start filming the newest season of BTR Lifestyles. Kendall was still planning on staying in CT for a while, trying to repair his relationship although Katie was hard to get to. A camera crew was sent out to him to follow him around to get started until he went back to LA. Katie wasn't due in LA until the summer although she had several offers pouring in for new shows. She had her agent look them over first to give Katie a synopsis and what might be the most fun or beneficial. Kendall soon returned to LA but not after some good footage of him and Katie was captured as well as some conference calls between him and his band mates. Kendall had a plan going on and he was about to set it in motion once the time was right. Camera crews followed the stars around for most of the day and Kendall kept his plan under wraps from everyone until he could talk freely at night. He didn't divulge too much, just incase things didn't go right; he didn't want things getting out or get everyone's hopes up.

After nearly 6 months of cameras constantly in their faces, the guys were nearly done with the tour and had only 2 weeks left before heading home for a quick vacation. Camera crews left and began sorting through the footage that they had in order to be sure the new season would premier on time in September. Katie was already hard at work at the main office building for Network TV, filling out paperwork and brainstorming new idea for merchandise for all the shows. She talked with Kendall on and off and their relationship was at a much better level now. Their secret past had since been revealed and naturally her parents had many questions but she decided not to hide it or deny it any longer. She felt comfortable with Kendall, although she still had this attachment and need for approval from her parents that kept pecking at her. Her parents desperately wanted to meet Kendall in person; her father wanted to have a chat with him to be sure he was the right fit. He wasn't too keen on the fact that they had been dating for a while and when he found out that they were living together, even under the supervision of Mrs. Knight. Katie had set up a few 3 way chats just so they could all break the ice but with the time zone differences and the schedules of everyone, it wasn't always easy to come up with a compatible time frame.

Her parents were satisfied enough from what they had seen and heard thus far but they wanted to know more and were willing to wait until he was free from his busy touring schedule. Or at least Katie's mom was; her father wasn't too pleased about Kendall being in a band, he'd be gone all the time, leaving his daughter alone. Not only that, but he didn't like her in LA for half the year as it was and now it might be that she'd go and live out there instead if they were to marry. He wasn't having it and fought it any chance he got, getting into arguments with his wife and yelling at Katie for her choices and bad decisions. She didn't try to defend it and instead always left the arguments second guessing but Kendall never failed to brighten her day when they were able to chat.

As soon as the tour finished, Kendall caught a plane to CT to meet with her parents personally. Katie was still in LA, unable to leave for a few more weeks and she had no idea about Kendall's plans to meet her parents first. Katie's mom was warm and welcoming to Kendall as always, she liked him long before she met him, just seeing the smile on her daughter's face even before she had become famous, made her day. Sure she had her doubts about the relationship such as this being Katie's first and only relationship and she worried that Katie might have been too focused to get with Kendall that she didn't see any negatives he might have had.

The more her parents talked with Kendall, the more relaxed they became. He wasn't an egotistical celebrity and was quite down to earth. He was caring, chivalrous, generous, helpful, and very well educated. Kendall had actually taken some online college courses and got a degree in finance management while in between touring and filming the show. Needless to say her parents were impressed although Katie's father still had his doubts, naturally. He was that kind of old fashioned father who didn't take to kindly to any boy trying to take his daughter and this was an extra special circumstance with so many if's.

Her father wasn't an outright mean man but he was stubborn, inpatient and ill-tempered. To the point where he often exploded with rage when things weren't going the right way. He was king of the castle and he didn't like it when things were in disorder. He was a big and tall man 6'5', 235lbs and a retired marine sniper. He made his past career very clear and although he was up there in age, nearing 60, he was still in his physical prime and could take on any man who crossed his path; not that many people tried that is. Kendall gave him the utmost respect but he couldn't help but be at least a tad fearful of this behemoth staring him down; trying to get Kendall to relinquish his feelings for Katie but that just wasn't going to happen. He loved her and was willing to put up with anything that could be thrown at him and he was ready to prove it.

He spent a whole day at the house, being interrogated by her parents before he was free to leave. He was going to stay a few days but he had to go right back unexpectedly for a few promo shoots that were booked in the last minute. He explained the situation to her parents who wanted to talk with him some more about his intentions but he had to decline. He could feel the tension growing as their original judgment started to seep in with the news. He apologized and said he'd meet up later as soon as he was on vacation; around the same time Katie would be finished.

Katie was cramming to meet her deadlines and just trying to get as much work done as possible before heading home to begin a new year at the academy. Once she finished her work for LA she decided to kick back a bit and spend a few days on a mini vacation and maybe head to the beach before fall set in and the beach would close. She could catch a plane with Kendall instead and actually have someone to talk to on the ride home instead of having to sit quietly in a back row trying to hide herself with a body guard. Kendall was done with all his shoots so the two spent some time together, enjoying the sights and having a private date night before heading to CT where she would be busy for at least the month of September as things got off the ground with the new year.

Katie had a few days to herself to unwind and unpack before school actually started. Most of the paperwork and scheduling was done and all she had to do was show up with all of her supplies and outlines. She went over her binders of outlines, notes, lectures and exams to go over and outdated info that she had come across or to add new questions and facts. She didn't have too much time to do all that but she wasn't too worried that there was anything different from last year.

Despite having extra space in the house, Kendall was not invited or allowed to stay at the Pryszweic residence. Instead Kendall occupied one of the dorms at the academy; Katie gave him one of the more secluded rooms so he'd be away from the noise of the students. Kendall never ventured to the other floors and only left the building to visit Katie in her office or to watch a class going on. Despite their close relationship and how serious they were getting, Kendall made no mention, nor did he have any interest in asking for sex. He was brought up to respect girls and he loved Katie's respect for herself as well; he was more interested in her for her personality rather than her looks, although she was very attractive.

Kendall's meetings with her parents went well and Katie had been lectured several times about their findings, both positive and negative. Katie stood her ground and admitted that she did indeed love him and that he was the only person that treated her like an actual person and not something to be used and tossed away. Her parents respected her decision and in time they grew to like Kendall more and more before making him part of the family and welcoming him with open arms each time he was able to stop by. Even Katie's dad was grateful to see him; he enjoyed seeing his daughter happy and Kendall really was a genuine and kind man. Kendall and Katie had been together for just over four years now and things were better than ever; Katie was more confident and the happiest she'd ever been.

Katie had gotten two other roles on TV, one was a recurring and another was a co-starring role; she also still had guest spots on BTR Lifestyles whenever one of the guys would visit her or she visited them when the cameras were rolling. She spent her summers in LA but the holiday season was spent at home, sometimes with Kendall, but most often without. He didn't have to work on the holidays but he didn't have the time to fly back and forth for just one or two days so he had to skip them but they both understood. Katie's schedule was getting busy as she reached the peak of her popularity and often times she'd spend more months in LA than in Connecticut but she was happy and living the life everyone could only dream of; her happiness was the only thing that mattered to her parents although they did miss her terribly and they really wanted her around to do chores and other work like she was supposed to.  
Her recurring role was cut in half so she would be needed less often since her character was written away but with possibility of coming back in the show. She'd be notified way ahead of time but for the time being she was in the clear and with nothing else to do, she took a much needed, lengthy vacation to return back home to enjoy some quality time with her family.


	23. Chapter 23

_***AN* So, I took a short break from writing this story, I've spent about a month on it before uploading all the chapters I had. I finally had an epiphany of sorts as I started brainstorming different ideas. I believe I know exactly which direction I want to go into now and it should only take 1 or 2 decent sized chapters but we'll see. I still need some time to think about the detail so this story wont be finished until probably just before or just after the new year. **_

_**Also on a side note, now that I know the story's direction I may in fact change the title to fit it. I've been having trouble coming up with titles lately so I usually just put the first thing that comes to mind since I cant start the story uploads without it. When I change the title I'll let everyone know in an AN of the next chapter but if I change the title after the story has finished then just pay attention to my profile which I have turned into a kind of blog. Right now I dont have an up-to-date blog or twitter that I am willing to link to this website. All of my updates are labeled with a date and will be deleted after a few months or by the time I update again depending on how much time has passed. **_

_**I have a few ideas for BTR related stories still brewing in my head and on a note pad however the ideas have been few and far between due to the fact that I am burned out and just a bit down in the dumps. I kind of lost the urge to write because my stories come out better than my own life and its a bit of a let down... I'll continue writing for the time being and I'm not going to flat out quit writing, I'm just going to take more breaks or write different stories such as regular fiction or a different show. After this story is completed I will be continuing with my newest yet to be named series following Kendall and my OC, Katie. I also might try my hand at writing a song fic. I'm not sure if I got the concept but I'm going to give it a go and see where it goes. This might be my last update for a week or so, in that respect I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! ***_

_**I have a lot of dialogue in this chapter so I needed different fonts. as always my OC- Katie is **_**BOLD**_**, Kendall is **ITALICS**. Carlos will be **_UNDERLINED_ **during the first dialogue exchange. James will be **_PLAIN_**. James and Carlos dont have any other speaking parts for the rest of the chapter so any other UNDERLINED or PLAIN font belongs to the Announcer or other third party character respectively.  
**_

Katie was home for most of the year this time around, her newest show was slowing down in production and would most likely not be renewed for whatever reason but she was fine with it. She had finished most of her schooling thus far, becoming certified in several trades within the animal world including zoology, marine biology and training and care for all kinds of animals both domesticated and wild. The only thing she hadn't finished yet was veterinary training but with her busy schedule there was no way she could get into it. She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to get into it; it was good money, not that she didn't have so much of it now and she liked to help animals but when would she be able to put it to practical use? She could teach veterinary courses here and then maybe expand to accommodate a small scale vet clinic but she wasn't so sure.

Katie was going to be 25 in a month; Kendall was younger than her by exactly one month but it didn't bother him at all. Katie was trying to plan out her life now that her schooling was just about done; she wanted to settle down and just return to a normal life now that she had a taste of the big time. It was fun while it lasted but after this show ended, her roles would be few and far between like many stars before her, the same ones she grew up on.

Now that their relationship was back on track and steady, Katie was at ease with her life and had no more regrets or doubts. She fell more in love with Kendall than ever before as the days went on and the two were nearly inseparable when they had their time together. The thing about their relationship together was that there was no competition, there were no doubts, and no secrets. They had been together for so long, they gained a lot of respect although several times the question would pop up: 'Are they going to get married or…?" Katie thought about that a lot. She'd love to get married but unlike most girls she had no idea what she wanted for a wedding so she often ignored the thought.

She was afraid of commitment really, after her and Kendall had a long talk and she was sure her parents liked him she wasn't afraid of the subject but it never came up. She was a bit concerned that he wasn't asking and maybe he was having second thoughts but at the same time she felt that although she kind of felt that she was ready, she probably wasn't. Her and Kendall had a lengthy discussion during his stay after she had gone backwards in their relationship.

"_Do you really think that we wouldn't work things out between us?"_

**"I don't know. We've never had the opportunity; not that I'm wishing bad luck on us like that. I just mean what if we really arent meant for each other? We could end up being the most mismatched couple ever. I know we have a lot in common and have a lot of respect towards each other but what if its not enough?"**

_"What do you mean 'if'? If we are open and honest with each other, it will take us a long way. I don't understand why you have so much doubt. I mean I know you have trust issues but this is almost too much."_

**"See?"**

_"No, I didn't mean it like that! I'm not giving up on you. Listen even if for whatever reason we didn't end up together, I love you too much to just drop you and let you break like some unimportant object. You deserve to lead a happy and fulfilling life and to do that, you need to be able to open up and trust others. Use your judgment to find out who's real and who's fake; don't close everyone off just because of a few bad eggs in the bunch."_

**"But I-I just cant!"**

_"You can and I know that for a fact. You can lean on me all you need to but you will be able to stand on your own two feet with or without me by your side."_

"**Kendall?"**

_"Yeah?"_

**"What makes you so sure about all of this?"**

_"Havent you ever noticed?"_

**"Noticed what?"**

_"Every time that you fell down, I was right there to pick up the pieces and stand you up again. I was there when Walter was abusing you, I was there when you were living in the mountains, I was there when you were near death, I was there when you felt all was lost and guess what, I'm still here now with no plans to leave." he smiled_. She looked to him meeting his smile and his soft green eyes. They were full of life and sympathy. He was being sincere and that's all she needed, the cage surrounding her heart finally broke away as she felt herself put all her trust into him. She believed his words once she realized that he was there for her each time she needed someone, even if she didn't think anyone noticed, Kendall did.

As the months past, she felt more at ease. The hustle and bustle of her normal life no longer took its toll; she had a positive outlook on life knowing that she had someone to lean on. Kendall wasn't the only one, Liam was always around and he still cared for her like a sister. Katie realized, just how many people she could rely on now that she wasn't so boxed into herself. She was still a bit timid on really taking the final leap and putting all of her trust into the people around her so she kept some of it reserved deep in her heart.

It took a lot of effort to try and be normal but slowly she came out of her shell and lived the life she actually dreamed of. Despite not being as active in television anymore, her and Kendall were still very close and in a committed relationship. The time apart was tough but it made their bond stronger much to everyone's surprise; the long distance never swayed them at all. After going on 5 years of being together, the questions and rumors started flowing around between friends, family and even fans, as they followed the couple's adventures in magazines, on TV or in person if they were lucky enough to be that close.  
Back in LA, Kendall was taking a nap on his couch when someone rang his doorbell. He was a bit groggy but he got up to answer it to see Carlos and James standing there. He didn't have a chance to greet them before they both came inside and began talking. Kendall just shut his front door in confusion and listened in.

"Kendall, what is with you and Katie?" Carlos asked

"…_What?"_ Kendall asked confused

"You guys have been dating for a while." Carlos began

"5 years next month." James added

"Right. So what are your plans?" Carlos said getting right to the point

_"Uh…._" was all Kendall could utter as the barrage of questions and accusations began

"Are you just going to keep leading her on? She doesnt deserve that!" Carlos said getting louder.

"Even I don't do that!" James said.

_"Hold on guys, its not like that I swear. I love Katie, more than anything but-_" Kendall started, trying to defend himself

"But what?" James cut him off, in the excitement

"Either your going to propose to her or cut her loose, you cant have it both ways." Carlos said

_"Geez you sound like her father…_" Kendall sighed

"She's my best friend, I'm just looking out for her. I know what she's been through, we've all witnessed it but I know what she's feeling inside and to see her come so far only to be crushed in the end…I don't want to see that." Carlos stated calmly.

_"Carlos, I promise you I'm not going to hurt her."_ Kendall assured him

"Then why not propose to her?"

_"Easier said than done."_

"How so?" 

_"I have been trying to propose for over a year now and I just cant find a way to do it. I don't know if its just a lack of creativity or maybe I am too chicken too commit even though I really want to."_

"So you don't want to marry her?"

_"See that's the thing, I don't know. I mean I love her more than anything but I don't know if she wants it. I don't want to hurt her anymore by pushing her into something. I'd love to spend the rest of my life with her but I don't want her to feel obligated into marrying me."_

"If she's been with you for this long, I think its safe to say that she'd want to marry you. She would have called it quits already if she didn't."

"No, I don't think so. She's not the type to hurt anyone, she's always looking out for others before herself. She wouldn't have called it off with Kendall if she felt like it wasn't working. She would have waited until he said something or called it off himself."

"So she's just going to stay in a relationship that might be making her miserable?"

"_Yep. We have to find out what she feels; find out if this is going in the right direction or not."_

"How are we going to find out? We cant just ask her you know, she's smarter than the rest of us, she's right up there with Logan!"

_"That's true, she'll know right away that we're up to something. We have to word our questions the right way. Not only that we have to gain her trust so she'll open up."_

"She trusts you, Carlos."

_"Yeah but she's not going to tell him that she's sick of me._" Kendall pointed out

"Right, since we're all friends with each other, she's not going to risk telling us anything about someone else and having it get back to that person." Carlos agreed

"This is more complicated than it should be…Why are women so difficult?!" James said frustrated

"They arent difficult, they're just smarter than they let on. We'll help you anyway we can, Kendall."

"Agreed."

"_Thanks guys."_

Katie was sitting on her couch in her room watching some TV as she relaxed from a busy day. She had a bunch of paper's to grade but instead she was heaving a bowl of Cheerios for dessert before diving into her work. She was watching an episode of Spongebob, having a grand time as she laughed hard at the childish jokes. She didn't care that she still watched it, Spongebob was still a popular show after all these years with many of her friends; they grew up with it. The show went on a commercial break and Katie finished up her bowl of cereal before getting up to bring out to the hall so she would remember to bring it down later. She was just coming out of the bathroom after rinsing the bowl when a promo for BTR Lifestyles appeared.

'October 22, BTR Lifestyles returns. Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are as busy as ever but are their personal lives in jeopardy due to their fame?" the announcer said. ' James has a mid life crisis, Logan waits for his confirmation into med school. Will Carlos keep chasing after girls out of his league? What about Kendall?'  
"Dude, you can do this and we're right behind you every step of the way." Logan assured his friend with a pat on the back.   
'Tune in for the season premier of BTR lifestyles October 22 at 9pm only on Teen TV!'

Katie stared at the screen for a while trying to process the commercial she just saw. She had been in contact with all the guys quite a bit as they grew close over the years and became part of their group but none of this seemed to add up except for Logan's acceptance letter which he already received. Why was James having a mental breakdown? What decision did Kendall have to make? Katie had seen BTR Lifestyles since it premiered, she liked to see what went on when she wasn't around and such. She knew that since this was a documentary type show, there could be random events strewn in to pique the audiences' interest if things were a bit dull. It sucked that some parts were faked but it was part of the contract, as they learned from their previous experience when Griffin tried putting them in a reality show. This time however, the show played by the band's rules; no one was kicked out or replaced.

Still, she could only wonder if any of the things were faked, for the most part, most of the events on the show were real so far so naturally she was concerned that some of this stuff was real and her friends were actually facing hard times. She felt a bit hurt though that they hadn't told her or tried to ask her for help, she told them that the academy was always open to them if they need a quick get away. Despite Katie's well known fame, not very many fans knew the whereabouts of the academy or that she worked there so it was pretty safe, plus it had a high level of security. After thinking about it for a while she pushed it off to the back of her mind and went on with her evening, eventually forgetting about the whole promo.

Kendall saw the promo a few hours later and immediately called his agent to make an appointment with the documentary staff as soon as possible tomorrow morning. He was there bright and early despite his appointment being for 10am. As soon as he was allowed in he went off on a tangent.

_"You cant air the new season!" he ordered  
_

"What? Why not?!" the director replied

_"You're going to ruin everything! I havent even figured out a way to propose yet and you guys already have the discussion creeping on the promo as the first episode!"_

"Then you better hurry up and get thinking. The new season is airing in 3 weeks and that's final. We cant wait around for you to play around with some girl as good as those ratings might be. The viewers are sick of the long strung out relationship, put some spice into it or we'll do it for you."

_"Like hell you will! You arent going to ruin this for me, I only have one shot and I'm not going to let some greedy bastards like you take it from me! My contract was designed to have us, the band in charge, you have to do as I say."_

"Wrong sir, you all have to collectively decide as a group in which direction you want to go in. You cant make single decisions."

_"What?!"_

"You're renewed contracts were redesigned to fit us better. We needed more control in the content."

_"The ratings were just fine! They were in the top 5, what more do you want?"_

"To be the top of course. The higher the ratings, the more money we all make. It's a win-win really."

_"No it's not you jerk!"_

"You'll thank me later when you receive your first paycheck and there's a huge bonus. With the money you'll bring in, you can buy your girlfriend a huge diamond ring, you'll get laid for sure."

_"Damnit! You havent heard the last from me!"_ Kendall said as he stormed out. He got on his cell and started calling and texting everyone for a group meeting pronto.

The group discussed the matter at hand and they all spent the afternoon trying to come up with some answers while their agents tried to work things out with the TV crew. Until things were better, they all needed to hang low for a while so the show wouldn't be able to continue and then have to post pone the season premier due to lack of footage. The guys would split up and spend a night or two at lesser known friends houses and everyone else was sworn to secrecy. Like clock work, the crew had gotten frustrated with the stars' disappearance but the deadline still stood until the stars' agents worked a deal with the network and postponed the premier until the guys were ready.


	24. Chapter 24

_***AN* Getting near the end now. I thought I would be able to finish it tonight as I uploaded these chapters but I had a change of plans so It may have to go for another few days or a week. I still have some time to work on it and I'm excited to get this finished so I can work on a new story. I didnt look over this chapter before I uploaded it so there may be some dialogue that I didnt key log but it would follow the same pattern for the most part. I believe this is the chapter when Kendall proposes but I am not sure. It isnt the most romantic or even sensible proposal but I couldnt think of anything else. I guess you could say that I'm not a romantic type of person but at the same time I dont sit around wondering how my future husband to be might propose. I dont want to say 'this is how I want to be proposed to' I want it to be something romantic, creative and/or spontaneous. This chapter was part filler kind of as well as part of the next chapter, I wasnt quite ready to get to the end and it wouldnt have made sense to all of a sudden jump to the ending. I dont want to get to ahead of myself right now and spoil any endings or upcoming chapters so I'll leave it at this for now. As Always, any questions, or comments can be left in the review section HOWEVER if you do not have an account, I cannot answer your questions!***_

With the plans set, it was now time to set them in motion, the only question was how? Kendall wanted everything to be special although the timing wasn't exactly right and he felt bad about it but there wasn't anything he could do. It was now or never and the surprise gets ruined. He wanted to propose in a way that she would never forget, in a way that truly expressed his feelings for her and how much he cared about her. It needed to be special but how?  
He spent the evening calling friends, even getting some of Katie's friends in on it. He called Liam, although it was late at Liam's house when Kendall called, but Liam accepted the idea and would put it in motion when he was able. Katie's first LA friend, Jess was called back after a few days of searching for the now famous superstar. Jess was ecstatic and couldn't wait to help, even putting all of her jobs on hold until everything was finalized.

It took a few days and some secret planning both in LA and in Connecticut as both parties came together and created the perfect environment. Katie was on a mini vacation after taking a spill in the arena and twisting her knee. She'd be on bed rest for a few days and the timing was perfect to get everything ready for her return. One of the lesser used classrooms and arenas were transformed from a storage area to a brightly decorated fantasy land. Flowers, ribbons, streamers, balloons, lace, banners lined the walls, the tables anything that could hold decoration, had one.

When Katie returned after 3 days of rest she was still in a bit of pain but she was walking on her own. It'd be a while before she could teach an arena class but she could still teach her lectures. Her office was lightly decorated with a welcome back banner at which she smiled. She got to work on some paperwork that needed to be done until it was time for class. She walked to the arena to put a note on it's door telling of the change in agenda and to move to the classroom down the hall. She went to wait in the class but noticed the door was locked with a sign saying it was in need of maintenance. She didn't question it right now, since class would be starting soon and just changed the sign on the arena door to reflect the change.

She walked to the corner classroom, one of the lesser used rooms and opened the door to be greeted with bright lights, flashes, and screams of joy as all of the occupants yelled surprise! Katie looked up in shock at the decorated room and all her staff packed into the room.  
"**What's all this?"**  
"Welcome back!"  
**"I wasn't gone that long!"**  
"Still, we thought you might need some cheering up after working so hard and then getting injured. I cancelled your next to classes so you can enjoy some peace for a little bit." Sandy started  
"We just want to show you our appreciation for all your hard work and dedication." Liam added  
"You're not like other bosses, you're nice to your employees and you actually do the work instead of hiring someone else to do it for you." another employee, Rachel commented  
**"Thanks, you guys are amazing yourselves. I wouldn't be here without all of you helping me like you do."**  
"Come on, grab a drink and some snacks; let's get this party going!" Liam said enthusiastically

Katie partied with her staff for an hour before things really started to pick up. Liam was with her most of the time and kept her preoccupied so she wouldn't notice anything. He kept changing the subject or throwing her false answers so she'd get distracted although he knew it wouldn't work for long. She was smart and soon enough she'd figure things out. The camera crew was the hardest thing to hide, they were a different crew, ones that Katie had never seen before but they were filming for BTR Lifestyles, as Kendall ordered. Liam told her it was for posterity, that it was supposed to be a surprise but they were creating a couple different videos about the school and a documentary or dedication video to her.

She didn't question much though, surprisingly enough. The decorations were pretty but they were very elaborate and didn't really fit in with the casual party they were having. Congratulations banners didn't fit in with the supposed theme but luckily Katie was having too much fun to notice. The thing she did notice was the lights going out. The music was still going as well as other electronics that were plugged in but the old lights had burnt out. After some moans and groans at the party's seemed ending, someone spoke up to move it into the arena. It was agreed and Katie went to unlock it. Liam was right behind her as the other party goer's stayed behind and pretend to collect the party items.

"Ok, she's gone.' Sandy said and the lights in the room turned back on. Derek, one of the other teachers, popped the breaker quickly to kill the lights. Katie could easily fix it but she was pushed into the conversations of moving the party so she would leave. Everyone stopped gather the supplies and instead went to the front lobby and viewing room to watch everything go down. A camera crew was already set up both in the viewing room and in the arena and they were rolling while the one that was in the party room followed Liam and Katie.

Katie turned on the lights and was greeted with a banner and more decorations as well as another camera crew. She turned to Liam confused and he just pointed forward as he put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her lightly. She turned and continued on and the lights dimmed to the spotlights used for shows. The lights landed on the middle of the arena and Katie continued past the equipment that had been pushed into a heap to look at it. Three of her dogs, a black, brown and yellow lab, were sitting in a semi circle. 2 had flowers in their mouths and the other had a scroll. The one with the scroll walked to her and gave it up. She opened it to read the instructions: "**Walk between the flowers." **

She did as the scroll said and walked between the dogs to find a patch of roses and candles hidden behind one of the obstacles, just out of sight from her when she walked in. The roses were laid out in a certain way, as if they were spelling something. She moved around to get a better view and she was finally able to see what it was.

"**Turn around? What…?"** she said to her self confused. She stood for a moment trying to figure it out before looking left and right of her. She saw the 2nd camera crew in the corner again and started thinking. Slowly she turned around and the lights went out completely making the arena completely dark. Her heart jumped at the sudden darkness and she didn't like it. She saw only the light from the camera crew but it wasn't enough to light up the arena enough to see anything.

She just stayed put, heart racing as she tried to hold back the tears that were starting to push through. She couldn't say or do anything and felt trapped. She called out to Liam but he didn't respond. She pulled out her phone to use it's flash to light the way out of the arena. Suddenly a spot light turned on and Katie followed the light's gaze to a large wrapped present sitting in the middle of the arena. Cautiously she went over to it and touched it, springing back in fear not knowing what it was or what to do. She tried to move it and surprisingly it was light and flimsy. She saw that it didn't have a bottom and instead just flipped it onto its side to see what it was hiding underneath.

It took a few seconds to digest what was underneath the box after it fell out of the way. Kendall Knight kneeled before her, small box in his hand. It was open to reveal a small silver ring, shining brightly under the light. His head was bowed while he was under the box but once he was clear he looked up to meet her gaze, his green eyes shining bright with sincerity and love. He waited for Katie to gather herself from the shock before he continued.

_"Katie, I love you with all my heart. There is nothing on this earth that I love more than you and I have been trying to prove that to you since the beginning. You are the sweetest girl with the biggest heart, I have ever met. The last 5 years together have meant the world to me and I hope you have felt the same way. I want to cherish every moment we have together for the rest of my life. If you live to be 100, I want to live to be 100 minus 1 day so I never have to live without you. Katie Pryszweic, will you do me the highest honor and be my wife?"_

Katie stood dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events and was too overcome with emotion to do anything. Instead she felt the tears push at her eyelids and just let them flow slowly, holding back her choked sobs. Kendall's smile turned to concern and he slowly got up. He wasn't sure what to do and wanted to console her but didn't know if she was crying out of sadness or happiness. Katie cleared her eyes and saw him standing up so she rushed into his arms where he picked her up and swung her around before giving her a kiss.

Their romantic moment was cut short by rounds of applause and cheers from staff, friends and family who had come out of hiding beyond the one way windows. Logan, James, Carlos, Liam, Jess and Sandy came running up to the duo to congratulate them. Kendall's band mates pat him on the shoulder and gave him a hug while Jess and Sandy squealed in delight. The camera crews temporarily got in the groups faces before backing up to let everyone have their turn.

Katie's classes were cancelled for the rest of the day since she was overwhelmed by the day's events but she was still on campus. The main building shut down for all classes but any other classes were still held at staff discretion. The rest of the day was spent partying and talking about everything and anything, Katie and her female friends began discussing plans and ideas for a wedding as well as looking at the ring she now proudly wore on her finger. It was perfect to Katie but there were several questions raised by her friends in regards to it's look. It was a small ring and since both stars were rich, it was questioned why the diamond was so small. It was still a good size, being very noticeable and shiny but to others it seemed out of place in a celebrity setting. The stones were set on a silver band rather than gold, which Katie preferred; she didn't hate gold but she liked silver better. She rarely wore jewelry so the thin band made it less noticeable to her. Along side the center diamond were two emerald stones, surrounded by more diamonds. Emerald was not her birth stone, it would be opal since she was born in October by Katie wasn't a fan of the stone and her favorite color was green so Kendall had the stones replaced. The band was too small for an inscription but it didn't need one.

After a long day filled with all kinds of surprises and emotions, Katie called it quits early and headed home. Kendall and his band mates left an hour ago for an early bachelor celebration. Katie was invited but she had other plans, she wanted to go right home and do some thinking as well as tell her parents the good news. She grabbed her things and piled into her truck and put her keys in the ignition but before she started the car she looked down at the ring with a smile for a moment. Her smile soon faded before her thoughts began to take over.

Everything was finally starting to sink in and her heart began to beat faster and skip a few beats. Why? Why was she wearing this ring? Was this real? All of her past habits, problems and beliefs started flooding back to her at the same time. She started panicking at the thought of being married at all, let alone Kendall. She thought he was the man of her dreams, he was sweet, caring, sensitive, loving, thoughtful, funny and oh so cute. He was perfect to her in every way imaginable but yet, her old ways of fearing everything an mistrust of everyone crept its way back in. She was having second thoughts about the whole thing and of course with that, hatred about herself for having such thoughts.

The thought about hurting the man she loved after everything he had done for her was too much. But she was scared, scared she was jumping into something she wasn't ready for, something that wasn't even for her. For the longest time she always thought that she wasn't supposed to have a happy ending and now that it was here, staring her in the face, it was just too much to handle. She slid the ring off her finger and held it in her hand for a while, just looking at it before putting it in a napkin and placing it in her cupholder.

She looked up to see the garage dark and outside was even darker. Night had set in and she had spent much longer than she thought she did, just sitting and pondering thoughts. She wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled herself together, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down before starting the engine and pulling out of her stall and out into the quiet cul-de-sac of the parking lot. Things were eerily quiet on campus, she wasn't sure how long she had been sitting in silence in the garage but it had to be for a good deal of time. She slowly pulled out along the buildings and checked the main building as she drove by to see everything shut off and closed. It was a bit early to be shut down but after everything that had happened, she was going to let it slide.

She waved to the security guard on her way out and started heading down the road towards home. She used to live in town, right on the boarder of the next town but since she moved, the travel distance was a bit longer. It was only about 10-15 minutes at best but tonight it just seemed to take forever as tears kept threatening to push past her eyes. Her heart was heavy with emotion and she just wanted to put all of this behind her; hoping that everything would be better tomorrow after a good night's sleep.

She pulled into her driveway, setting off the automatic garage door opener. Once she pulled inside and parked, the door shut behind her, locking her inside so she could let out Shadow who despite his old age and loyalty, could still be a run away and with it being dark outside, it would be near impossible to find the black German Shepherd. Shadow jumped out of the back seat and sat by the car door as Katie grabbed her gear and headed inside. She set down her dirty supplies in the mud room and unhooked Shadow from his vest and leashes before letting him prance to the kitchen to get some water. She was still hanging things up when he came running back to her and stood in front of her growling, pointing towards the living room. His defensive mannerisms sent Katie into a slight panic but she was well prepared, she pulled out an expandable stick and tazer before quietly tip toeing behind Shadow as he lead her in the right direction.

She hid behind a door frame, Shadow at her side, laying low, ready for her word. She listened closely but didn't hear much. The house was eerily quiet which was strange for this time of night but there was someone or several people in the house that didn't belong. She could smell a light scented perfume wafting towards her and some shallow breathing. Noises were very scarce and quiet but Katie and Shadow were quieter. She instructed Shadow to go one way as she went the other to corner whatever intruder they would encounter. She peeked behind her quickly to see Shadow ready at the other end of the room she took a deep but quiet breath before giving Shadow his command.

In a split second both Shadow and Katie took off around their respective corners to catch the intruder off guard only to be met with chaos. A room full of people went from quiet to panicked as Katie scared them in one direction and Shadow to scare them into another. Katie stopped almost immediately to try and make heads or tails of the situation. She moved to the side so the panicked patrons could leave the room and scatter throughout the house, away from the savage beast that was Shadow. The room cleared quickly and Katie called Shadow off once he was in range. He calmed down to his gentle self and returned to Katie's side to sit at her feet, tuckered out from the excitement. She dismissed him to go get water and she was met with confused, scared and some angry glares from people who she could now recognize as her friends and family.


	25. Chapter 25

***AN* Author's Notes at the bottom of the chapter instead to avoid spoilers!***

There was an awkward silence in the house before Katie finally said something.

**"I can explain!"** she said in defense. She expected to be met with hatred and punishment as usual but instead she was met with cheers and a group 'Surprise!'. She met them back with confusion before the crowd started to disperse back into the room, shuffling her with them. She was ushered to the living room to see the congratulations banner, balloons, streamers and all kinds of food and even a high stack of presents. **"What's going on?**"

"It's a congratulations on your engagement party?"

"**Huh? But, how did you know?!"**

"Kendall came by a few days ago and told us what his plans were. He wanted to check with us first to make sure it was ok. We've seen how happy he's made you and I love seeing you smile." Her mom said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"He's a good boy, despite his rock star fame. Very level headed, down to earth and respectful and I like that. He's been nothing but helpful and I approve of this marriage." her father said with a smile.

**"Oh, I see. He didn't tell me that."** she said carefully. She was still upset about the whole day and everything that was going on but she wanted to do her best to sound positive despite her feelings of negativity

"He wanted to leave it as a surprise." her mom explained. "How come you were so late?"

**"Huh?" she began glancing at the clock "Oh, there was a bit to do still at the Academy. We spent the whole day partying and I just couldn't let all those classes slide, we're behind as it is so I had to send emails out with homework assignments, plus I wanted to get some grading done. I figure I'm going to be busy for the next few days until this all blows over."**

"What do you mean until it blows over?" her mom questioned.

**"Nothing, I just meant the excitement."**

"Alright. Well let's get this party back up and running! We only have a few hours before we call it a night and there is a lot to do!" her mother said cuing everyone to continue.

Katie was over loaded with conversations and congratulatory remarks as well as people who wanted to see her ring. She had left it in her car after taking it off so she went out to get it. She could see and feel the confused and almost disgusted looks she was getting because she took off the ring. She was well known for not wearing jewelry so she tried to play it off as it being no different than other types of jewelry since she was working with the animals before she came home. She also changed to get more comfortable and to look a bit more presentable than in her academy uniform.

The night went well and was full of excitement but yet strangely it had still only just begun. Though it was the middle of the week, most guests had no plans for the morning either having been retired or in between jobs so the party was expected to go until about 11 or so. Katie didn't have to get up early, since it was her business and it was popular enough that she could hire people to open for her, she could wander in at noon or so. The night was winding down though and the only party goers left were mostly Katie's friends. The party was moved into the basement with the leftover food while Katie's mom and some family members cleaned up upstairs and talked to each other to catch up.

The doorbell rang and one Katie's mom's friends answered it, since the others were busy and had their hands full. She thought it was a party goer who had forgotten his or her stuff since there was a decent pile of belongings waiting to be claimed, although most were probably owned by the pack of young adults in the basement.

"Hello there, did you forget something?" the woman asked.

_"Uh.."_ came the person's response. After a double check of the number of the house the person continued "_No, I came to see Katie."_

"Oh, come in, come in." she gestured. "A bit late to the party arent you?"

_"No, I'm here as a surprise."_ the person replied

"Kendall!" Katie's mom shouted coming in from the kitchen.

_"Hi, Mrs. P."_ he said giving her a hug.

"So this is the mysterious husband we all wondered about!" the woman who answered the door said.

_"That's me."_ Kendall smiled

"It's great to finally meet you." another woman said.

Soon a small swarm of curious family members surrounded Kendall as they asked him several questions to get to know him quickly. Kendall was on a bit of a time restraint so he wanted to see Katie, before he left for LA in a bit for a few months to film some more episodes for the show. He didn't want to be rude though so he just smiled and answered their questions polity, hoping they would soon let him go.

Downstairs, Katie and her friends, both guys and girls were having a huge party full of music, singing, dancing and various video gaming sessions. There was plenty of room in the house for everyone to stay over if they wanted and most of the girls were up for an old fashion sleep over but the guys weren't so keen. They would keep hanging out for a while but they wanted nothing to do with any of the girly stuff if they did decide to stay over. The girls would be upstairs and the guys downstairs to make things easy on both parties.

Liam went upstairs to fetch more soda for the group. On his way to the kitchen he heard all the adults talking and getting all wound up so he tried to avoid them at all costs. He heard a familiar voice and peeked out to see Kendall amidst all of Katie's family members. Kendall was calm and polite but Liam knew he was probably in a hurry since supposedly he left for a flight hours ago.

"Hey Kendall." Liam said nonchalantly. Kendall's look of relief and gratitude showed prominently at Liam's words and tried to excuse himself from the group to greet him but was pulled back in. Liam couldn't really say anything more to help him but he invited him downstairs to hang with the others but the adults turned Liam away harshly. Liam was a bit hurt and frustrated but he got over it.

He went back downstairs with the soda where it was immediately distributed among the party-goers quickly and tossed in the trash. With the last of the soda gone and food running out, soon most of the guys would be going home after they finished their gaming sessions. The girls were planning a movie and invited the guys but as of yet they couldn't agree on a title.

"Katie, I think you need to go upstairs and rescue your fiancé from the mob of your mom's friends."

"Fiancé!?" the girls screamed in unison.

"Oh my god, Kendall Knight is here?! AHHHH!" Elizabeth screamed

"I want to meet him!" Isabelle called out

"Me too!" Leslie chimed in

**"Wait a minute!"** Katie tried to pipe in but half of the group was already out of their seats and up the stairs. The rest of the girls followed suit, as did some of her close guy friends who wanted to meet this mystery man. They knew he was some kind of celebrity but didn't bother reading any teen magazines or look up that kind of stuff on their computers or phones in fear of someone catching their search history. The stampede of young adults was stopped short by Katie's mom who chastised the group.

"Enough! Mr. Pryszweic is sleeping, he has to go to work tomorrow! Kendall is not here for everyone's enjoyment, he's here to see his wife to be and that's it."

"_That's ok, I don't mind saying hello to everyone. Take some pictures, sign some autographs, give some hugs, then I can see my girl."_

**"Sounds fine to me!"** Katie smiled behind the group. Kendall pushed past the group lightly to give his fiance a hug and a kiss on the cheek before turning to the others and started signing away. It took only 5 minutes and everyone was satisfied and they all went downstairs. Kendall got to spend a few minutes alone with Katie to talk about things like how she was feeling, noticing that she was missing that spark in her eye. She told him that she said yes to him to make the scene look good but she wasn't sure if she was truly ready or if this was real.

**"It's hard to explain, I love you, don't get me wrong, it's just that…I'm scared I guess. I'm still unsure of everything. This is a hard habit to break when you've had to rely on yourself for so long…"**

_"I understand. You can take all the time you need. I'm sure it'll be another year or so before we actually tie the knot. With our busy schedules we need a lot of time to prepare and stuff but my offer will always stand true. And in the event that you do decide to say no, I'll understand; but I'm not going to give up easily. I meant it when I said that I love you an that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."_ he said moving in to kiss her. She met his lips as they softly kissed hers before he started getting heavier. She accepted his movements and soon fell backwards in his light pushing and he was on top.

Kendall broke away after about a minute or 2 and helped her back up once he got off of her. They were still in the kitchen although far from the view of the adults but they had been quiet. Katie's dad was a stickler for space between couples until marriage although her mom was more relaxed. But it didn't stop her from being nosy and with her mom's friends around she would be all the nosier. The two headed downstairs quietly to pretend like they had been there for a while and joined the festivities for an hour before turning in for the night. Kendall stayed in the basement with the guys, unable and unwilling to sneak upstairs due to his personal morals and because of Katie's friends and parents. For the most part it was because he respected her and although it wouldn't have been the first time they slept together in the actual sense: sleeping; they had never engaged in anything sexual other than a joke and he wasn't about to start now.

It was quiet the next morning as all the young adults were still asleep. Katie's mom prepared a breakfast for all of Katie's friends but wasn't sure if she should wake them all. She went upstairs to check if any of the girls were awake, including her daughter but found everyone to be sleeping still. It was only just after 9am and Katie was known to sleep until at least 10. After about 20 minutes, she heard some noises from downstairs and slowly checked to see a few of the guys awake.

"Breakfast time if anyone is interested!" She called down the rest of the flight.

Liam, Greg and Hank got right up and headed up the stairs in a hurry, waking up Isaac, and Keith on the way. The two of them were groggy and tired and just rolled back over to go to sleep for a few minutes more. The girls had started to make their way down stairs and fought the guys over hogging the food, although Mrs. P had prepared plenty of food in her deluxe kitchen. Once everyone was done eating, the girls helped Katie's mom clean up while the guys went to wake up, Keith, Isaac, Jake and Rocko who were still sound asleep in the basement.

Kendall was nowhere to be seen, he most likely left early in the morning to grab his things before catching his flight back to LA. While his band mates left last night just before dinner time, Kendall volunteered to move to a later flight when the flight had been overbooked. His flight left at 5am and he left shortly after everyone had fallen asleep. He waited upstairs in the foyer for an hour until his ride showed up. He had only his two carry on bags, the rest of his luggage was already in LA with his band mates, or at least he hoped that they didn't forget about it.

Kendall went to leave a note upstairs but Shadow laid at the top of the stairs and refused to let him pass, growling lightly at him. Kendall could see vaguely, the outlines of some of the girls laying in the spacious hallway, while most of them were sleeping in the large storage room on the other side of the hall. Kendall tried to give Shadow the note to deliver but Shadow was unsure of his surroundings in the dark and stumbled a few times before Kendall called him off. He sealed the note with tape and left it on the counter in hopes only Katie would read it. He wanted to be sure that she was ready to marry him when she felt it was right and not a moment before. He was willing to wait as long as it took for her to feel safe and trust him but he didn't want her to feel cornered or rushed in anyway so he wanted to keep this whole ordeal under wraps for now. With the note set and his ride waiting, Kendall set the door lock to lock securely behind him and he walked quickly to the cab before turning around at the house one more time and take a deep breath. He looked up to where Katie's window might be and smiled.

_"Goodnight, Katie. I love you."_ he whispered into the dark night. He put his bags in the backseat with him and told the driver to go on.

The next morning Katie woke up feeling oddly refreshed instead of groggy. She was warm and felt at peace despite it being a cool fall morning. She looked around her room as she stretched in bed to see she was alone, door shut tight. Her window blinds were open and it was very bright outside. She remembered about all her guests and looked at the clock to see it was almost 11am. The house was fairly quiet though so she got up to look out her many windows to see if anything was going on outside. Most of her friends were hanging out on the back deck, some were in the pool, others were going in and out of the house through the basement hangout.

She smiled at her friends although they didn't see her and she got ready for her day. She grabbed her swimsuit to join them and put other clothes on over it to romp around the house in for a while. She opened her bedroom door to see a piece of paper fall to the ground. It was taped up and covered in Kendall's messy handwriting. She picked it up and tried to open it but he used so much tape that it wasn't an easy task. Katie went over to her desk to grab some scissors then sat on her bench in front of the front window of her room to work on gently opening it up.

She finally managed to get it open and read the contents. He went on to say how he had to catch his flight after volunteering to be booted on his over booked flight. He was glad he saw her one last time before flying out. He wanted to be part of the wedding plans but he didn't want to make her wait while he was in LA for the show and for a tour. They'd see each other in a few months. Katie was all smiles as she read his simple note. There was nothing in it that made it super special or romantic, it just outlined his plans for the next few months and explained why he was able to hang around.

Katie couldn't understand her emotions either, she didn't get it why she was so happy, so calm, so at peace with everything going on. She didn't mind the questions, she wasn't scared and she didn't hide the fact that she was engaged from herself. She put the note down to look out the window of her room at the front yard where Kendall had stood mere hours before. She could almost see and feel his presence staring back at her, smiling as he waved goodbye. She placed a hand on the glass to reciprocate his farewell as she stared out the pane at nothing.

"Katie? Katie are ready?" she heard someone say as she stared out the window. She turned to look and saw her mom.

**"What?"** she replied

"I said are you ready?" she repeated.

**"Oh."** she replied. She paused for a moment as she looked out the window again. She took a deep breath and sighed before turning to her mother with a smile on her face. "**Yes, I am."** she continued. She got up from the bench and let her self get accustomed to the long and cumbersome wedding gown that was now flowing around her. Her mom quickly went around to make sure the gown flowed freely around her daughter and then attached the veil to the tiara and unraveled the train for the bride's maids to carry.

"I've been waiting for a long time for this day and I cant believe it's finally here."

**"I know, I know but keep in mind that you need to keep it together to help me. My friends are bawling their eyes out and I need at least one dry eyed person to rely on!"**

"This is a happy occasion! I cant help but cry seeing you all dressed up for your own wedding. Your father is going to be in tears too, he hasn't seen you yet and I have a feeling he's going to be having a hard time keeping it together."

**"You better hope that he does keep it together, not to be self centered or anything but I don't need him falling down the aisle because he gets too emotional. I am not dressed to pick him up off the floor."**

"Don't you worry about that, he'll be just fine. He's not about to ruin a day that he's been waiting for just as long as we have. You know as well as I do that that man is stubborn, if he wasn't feeling well, he's going to hide it for as long as possible, especially when it comes to protecting you." she said as she adjusted a few of Katie's accessories and touching up her make-up one last time. " Don't worry about it too much, he's a strong man and he's been preparing for this day. We've all rehearsed numerous times to make sure everything will go exactly the right way. Now then, chin up, take a deep breath, shake it all out of your mind, relax and here we go!"

***AN* OK The last part where my OC is staring out the window after reading Kendall's note is in her bedroom however the dialogue acts as a kind of switch to go back to the beginning of the story. My OC's mom was coming in to check on her and see if she was awake but at the same time she was checking in to see if my character was ready to get married. Remember at the beginning of the story, my OC was in a room all to herself and then sat down on a bench to look out a window as she recalled how she almost let this moment slip by her/how everything came to fruition. So now we head back to that moment and continue the story at the beginning. Its a bit confusing and makes more sense in a movie or TV show where it can be seen but I tried to explain it as best I could. For the most part this story is finished, I'm just going to wrap up a few loose ends, describe the wedding and stuff like that. If you have any questions or comments leave them below but remember that I cannot answer you if you do not use your profile name! If you find a loose end that you want me to cover then by all means through it my way. This story took longer than it usually takes me so no doubt I've missed a few things. Stay tuned for the wrap up chapter/epilogue and more stories! Thanks for sticking with me through this one as I tried something a little different.*  
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